Some coaches are ‘organizational CEOs’. Some coaches are brilliant tacticians. Some coaches are legendary leaders of men. These guys are none of the above.
In 1969, Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull co-authored a satirical book titled “The Peter Principle,” in which they outlined the idea that in a business organization’s hierarchy,
previously competent employees will be promoted upwards until a point at which they’ve risen to a position for which they are no longer competent.
Or, as Peter would put it: “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties.”
In terms of NFL head coaches, consider the following list as Exhibits #1 through #13 of the aforementioned ‘Peter Principle.’
These are the guys who were elevated to a position for which, as history would tell us, they were grossly unqualified.
Presenting, for your reading pleasure: the 12 worst head coaches in NFL history (who coached at least 10 games), ranked in order of career winning percentage.
12. Frank Kush Career Winning Percentage: 0.275
11. Kevin Gilbride Career Winning Percentage: 0.272
10. David Shula Career Winning Percentage: 0.267
9. Lane Kiffin Career Winning Percentage: 0.250
T-7. Bobby Petrino Career Winning Percentage: 0.231
T-7. Lou Holtz Career Winning Percentage: 0.231
6. Gus Bradley Career Winning Percentage: 0.225
5. Dennis Allen Career Winning Percentage:0.222
4. Steve Spagnuolo Career Winning Percentage: 0.211
3. Rod Marinelli Career Winning Percentage: 0.208
2. Hue Jackson Career Winning Percentage: 0.196
1. Marty Mornhinweg Career Winning Percentage: 0.156