Where Does Lions’ Dan Campbell Rank Among Nfl Coaches?

It’s ranking season in the NFL.

Seeing as we’re in the deadest part of the offseason, many outlets are running their annual lists to offer fresh(ish) content to people still hungry for football news. ESPN is currently running their position rankings based on execs and coaches; the NFL is well underway with their Top 100 Players of 2026 list, and we have even kicked off our ranking of the Lions’ roster from 90 to 1.

But why not go ahead and add one more ranking to the pile?

Today’s Question of the Day is:

Where does Dan Campbell rank among NFL coaches?

My answer: First, let’s take a look at some coach rankings from other outlets.

• PFF’s Bradley Locker has Campbell the highest at 5th
• Blogging the Boys has an interesting head coach formula that ranks Campbell in Tier 2, 9th among active coaches with at least three years of experience
• Saints Wire has Campbell 12th
• Sharp Football Analytics has Campbell 6th
• NBC Sports has him 8th

So the consensus among most is that Campbell is a top-10 coach in this league, but likely outside of the top-five. And I think that’s fair. Here are five coaches I would definitively put ahead of Campbell:

1. Sean McVay
2. Andy Reid
3. Kyle Shanahan
4. Sean Payton
5. Nick Sirianni

And then there’s a tier of coaches who I put on the same level as Campbell. With some, they’ve accomplished more, but only been at it for a few years. For others, they’ve accomplished about the same as Campbell:

• Mike Macdonald
• Jim Harbaugh
• Mike Vrabel
• Matt LaFleur
• Kevin O’Connell

Guys like Liam Coen and Ben Johnson are knocking on the door of this tier, but I’m not willing to put a one-year head coach this high on the list after a successful season. Let’s see how they navigate inevitable hardships first.

Ranking Campbell is tough because it’s almost like he holds a different position than some of these other head coaches. He’s not a play-caller. He doesn’t have an ingenious scheme that leads the way. But he is an expert motivator. He has built a winning culture in a city known for losing. And his progressive, aggressive approach is a big reason why Detroit has won so many close games, and he knows more about the Xs and Os of the game than he leads on. Is all of that more impressive than a guy like Mike Macdonald, who can seemingly create a bafflingly good defense wherever he goes—and just won a Super Bowl? It feels like comparing apples and oranges.

In the end, I’m putting a legacy coach like Jim Harbaugh above (and honestly, maybe John Harbaugh, too) and Macdonald ahead of Campbell. So, that puts him right around eighth or ninth in the NFL.

What do you think? Vote in the poll below, and share your thoughts