How Do First Time Super Bowl Head Coaches Perform Against the Spread?

A big talking point during Super Bowl week is the inexperience of the Cincinnati Bengals. The team is led by a second year quarterback and a third year head coach. Most of the significant contributors on hand are in their mid-20's and in the midst of their first deep postseason run.

Let's focus for the sake of this article on the first time Super Bowl head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor was a quarterbacks coach with the Los Angeles Rams when the team went to the Super Bowl under Sean McVay in 2019, but this is his first time patrolling the sidelines in the big game.

How do coaches typically do in their first foray on Super Bowl Sunday? Well, there isn't a glaring contrast in first time Super Bowl coaches?

First Time Super Bowl Coaches are 13-13 since 2000

By using StatHead's database, first time Super Bowl coaches have gone .500 in the game dating back to 2000. There is no prominent trend or streak that gives an edge in the coaching department. Meanwhile, first time coaches are 14-12 against the spread in those 26 games.

In short, inexperience of first time head coaches in this spot are overblown and more of a media narrative than anything. Meanwhile, let's keep in mind that Taylor is going up against his former boss in McVay, possibly adding to the familiarity of the two coaching staffs.

If you are looking for a trend to back in the Super Bowl, looking to Taylor's coaching inexperience is not a predictive measure or have the historical backing dating back more than 20 years.