NFL Power Rankings: 30 Best Coaches of All-Time
By Will Osgood
10. Paul Brown (1950-1975)
Paul Brown coached for both the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, the way it all worked out is quite strange, especially to the modern reader. Despite more success than any coach up to that point, Browns owner Art Modell fired Brown because of a tiff between the two. Brown ended up spending five years playing golf before becoming the third most invested owner in the startup AFL franchise down in Cincinnati, which of course became the Bengals.
As a result, he was also named Head Coach and General Manager, which he stuck in for five seasons. He had success in his time as an Ohio High School coach, but it was as a pro coach where accumulated award after award. Three Coach of the Year awards preceded his eventual Hall of Fame bid in 1967 (before he had even finished his coaching days).
He won seven NFL Championships, which happens to be a record. Overall, he had a .672 career winning percentage.
But the fact is that his legacy is most greatly seen in that he tutored several young coaches who would eventually turn football from a game about power running to a vertical throwing game. Yet somehow he lands just barely inside the Top-10. What a deep list!
Next: How will the rest of the Top 10 stack up?