Andy Reid has long been one of the best coaches in the NFL and has solidified himself as one of the best during his decades-long runs with the Eagles and Chiefs.
Reid is a quarterback whisperer with a knack for creating dynamic offenses. He has developed numerous quality starters during his coaching career and helped Patrick Mahomes quickly ascend to superstardom after making him a top-10 pick.
That said, Reid hasn’t just developed players into stars. He has also helped mentor many coaches across the NFL.
Currently, there are five head coaches across the league who have worked on Reid’s staff over the years. There are several other notable names and coaches who have earned jobs in part because of the work that they have done with Reid.
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Who are the members of Reid’s coaching tree, and how do they stack up against one another? Here’s a ranking of the 11 Reid disciples who have gone on to become NFL head coaches.
1. John Harbaugh
- Experience: Ravens (2008-present)
- Record: 147-95
Reid has had a few successful coaches come out of his coaching tree, but it’s hard to argue against Harbaugh as the best of the bunch. The veteran coach is the third-longest tenured NFL coach behind Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin and has posted just two losing seasons in 15 years in Baltimore. And only once have the Ravens finished with fewer than eight wins under his watch.
Harbaugh is better than 50 games above .500 thanks to his pristine regular-season record and has made the playoffs 10 times. He has an 11-9 postseason record and helped the Ravens to win Super Bowl 47 over the 49ers, who were then coached by his brother, Jim.
Harbaugh’s sustained success and longevity give him the edge over the other coaches on this list, but you can surely make a case that a couple of others should be ahead of him. And they could pass Harbaugh during the 2023 postseason depending on how their teams fare.
2. Doug Pederson
- Experience: Eagles (2016-2020), Jaguars (2022-present)
- Record: 51-45-1
Pederson’s record might not be good as Harbaugh’s, but he could rival the Ravens coach for the top spot on this list. Why? Because Pederson has a Super Bowl ring from his second season with the Eagles, he has just two losing seasons in six years as a head coach, and he cleaned up Jacksonville in a hurry despite Urban Meyer’s disastrous 13-game tenure there.
The latter achievement may be Pederson’s most impressive. The Jaguars were coming off a 3-14 season under Meyer and Darrell Bevell before Pederson arrived. In just one year, he has instilled confidence into Trevor Lawrence and turned them into a 9-8 winner of the AFC South.
Pederson has gotten the most out of quarterbacks during his coaching career. Carson Wentz had an MVP-caliber season under him before he was injured; Pederson also won a Super Bowl with Nick Foles and has a 5-2 playoff record.
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Should Pederson earn another ring, he would leapfrog Harbaugh on this list. That may be difficult to achieve with the Jaguars this season, especially since they play Reid and the Chiefs in the divisional round, but Pederson could have a chance to get back to the Super Bowl if Lawrence continues to develop.
3. Sean McDermott
- Experience: Bills (2017-present)
- Record: 62-35
McDermott was the other candidate on this list that drew consideration for the top spot on this list. However, before moving him up, we’ll need to see more out of him in the playoffs.
McDermott has gotten the Bills to the playoffs five times in six seasons. That’s an impressive achievement considering that the team hadn’t made the playoffs for 18 years before his arrival. Still, the team has just a 4-4 postseason record and has yet to make it to the Super Bowl.
If McDermott can get there in 2023, he would warrant consideration ahead of Pederson. And if he wins, he would certainly jump the Jaguars coach.
As it stands, though, McDermott looks like the bronze branch of Reid’s tree. He deserves a lot of credit for setting Josh Allen up for success and turning Buffalo’s defense into a juggernaut, but he needs to get to the big game to solidify himself as one of the best.
4. Ron Rivera
- Experience: Panthers (2011-2019), Commanders (2020-present)
- Record: 98-90-2
Rivera has had more of an up-and-down career than the other coaches that rank highly on this list, but he did lead the Panthers to one of their best seasons in franchise history. They posted a 15-1 regular-season record and made it to Super Bowl 50, all while sporting the league’s top-scoring offense and one of its best defenses.
That said, Rivera has only led his team to a winning season three times during his 12-year head coaching career. Despite that, he has managed five playoff appearances, as his teams have twice won their division with sub-.500 records. That — plus his reputation as a high-character individual and an excellent leader on and off the field — is what has made Rivera a long-term NFL head coach.
5. Brad Childress
- Experience: Vikings (2006-2010)
- Record: 39-35
Childress’ time as an NFL head coach was strange. He seemed to be on the rise in each of his first four seasons, as he posted a mark of 6-10 in his first season but made two-game improvements in the win column each of the next four years.
In 2009, the Vikings went 12-4 and looked poised to ride Brett Favre to a Super Bowl berth. However, the QB threw an interception late in the NFC Championship Game against the Saints that sealed a New Orleans victory. From there, things fell apart for Childress.
Childress went 3-7 in 2010 and appeared to clash with the organization after cutting Randy Moss just four weeks after the team traded a third-round pick to acquire him. That led the Vikings to fire Childress midseason.
Childress never got another head coaching job and eventually ended up on Reid’s staff again with the Chiefs before he decided to retire. While the end of his time in Minnesota was strange, he still led the team to two playoff berths and had a winning record with the club.
6. Leslie Frazier
- Experience: Vikings (2010-2013)
- Record: 21-32-1
Frazier spent four seasons with Reid during the latter’s early tenure with the Eagles. He was the team’s defensive backs coach before he moved on to coordinator jobs with other NFL teams and eventually, into a head coaching job.
Frazier didn’t find a lot of success in his three-plus seasons in Minnesota. The Vikings finished 10-6 in his second full season as head coach but failed to win more than five in his other two seasons, as the team’s defense struggled once Frazier moved into a larger role.
Since being fired in Minnesota, Frazier has been one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators. He had interviewed for head coaching jobs in recent seasons so he may get another chance to prove himself at that level again — if he so desires.
7. Todd Bowles
- Experience: Dolphins (2011 interim), Jets (2015-2018), Buccaneers (2022-present)
- Record: 34-50
Bowles only spent a year on Reid’s staff, so calling him a branch of this tree may not seem entirely fair. Still, we’ll include him here given that he does share that thread.
Bowles’ head coaching career got off to a promising start. He led the Jets to an unexpected 10-6 record in 2015 and narrowly missed the playoffs. It looked like the defensive-minded coach had a recipe for success on defense while his offense performed well with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm.
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But since then, Bowles hasn’t logged a winning season in four years as a head coach. The Buccaneers made the playoffs in his first year after supplanting Bruce Arians, but they had just an 8-9 record and were trampled 31-14 at home in the contest.
Bowles’ ultra-conservative approach on offense tends to limit the scoring capabilities of his teams. He also is prone to calling ill-timed blitzes — something the Bucs fans know all too well after Cooper Kupp’s massive catch in the Bucs vs. Rams divisional round of the 2022 NFL playoffs.
9️⃣ TO 1️⃣0️⃣ TO SET UP THE WIN! pic.twitter.com/1hrjkOa4lQ
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 23, 2022
Bowles is still a good defensive mind and has largely found success as a coordinator during his career. That may be the better role for him as opposed to being a head coach.
8. Matt Nagy
- Experience: Bears (2018-2021)
- Record: 34-31
Nagy’s coaching career started very well, as he led the Bears to a 12-4 record and a playoff berth and was named the AP’s Coach of the Year for 2018. However, that promising start proved to be something of a mirage.
Nagy’s teams finished with a bottom-10 offense in each of his final three seasons in Chicago. He routinely struggled to get creative with the team’s offense and failed to develop No. 2 overall pick Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. He got a chance to work with Justin Fields as a rookie, but he didn’t utilize the first-round pick’s mobility well at all during his final season.
Nagy has now returned to Reid’s staff as the team’s quarterbacks coach. He will serve as a reminder that not every branch of the Reid tree is a good one.
9. David Culley
- Experience: Texans (2021)
- Record: 4-13
It’s hard to really assess just how good of a coach Culley was with only one year of head coaching experience under his belt. It’s even harder considering that he spent that year working for the unstable Texans.
All things considered, Culley did well to get four wins with the depleted roster that he had in Houston. Still, the Texans ranked bottom-five in both offense and defense during the 2021 season, so they made him a one-and-done candidate. Perhaps Culley could have improved with more talent around him, but we may never know.
10. Pat Shurmur
- Experience: Browns (2011-2012), Eagles (2015 interim), Giants (2018-2019)
- Record: 19-46
Shurmur was consistent as an NFL coach, but not in a good way. He had two-year stints with both the Browns and Giants, and he posted a combined record of 9-23 with each team. He only retained a winning record with the Eagles, where he won his only game as an interim head coach.
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Shurmur coordinated some quality offenses with the Eagles and Chip Kelly, and that’s part of the reason that he got a second chance at becoming a head coach. Now, he is looking for work as an offensive coordinator after being out of the NFL in 2022, and it doesn’t seem likely he will be a head coach again.
11. Steve Spagnuolo
- Experience: Rams (2009-2011), Giants (2017 interim)
- Record: 11-41
Spagnuolo is a good NFL defensive coordinator and was a big part of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl 54 win over the 49ers. It appears that he is best suited for that type of role after he struggled immensely as a head coach during his career.
Spagnuolo coached the Rams for three years and never had a winning season. The closest he came was a 7-9 record in 2010. In his other two seasons, he logged a combined three wins; the Rams finished with a bottom-two record in each of those seasons.
