{"id":23099,"date":"2026-07-31T12:31:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T07:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23099"},"modified":"2026-07-31T12:31:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T07:31:01","slug":"power-ranking-the-head-coaches-in-the-nfc-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=23099","title":{"rendered":"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"0\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/sports-nfl\">NFL<\/a> training camps are in full swing, and as teams ease back into on-field drills and practices in the dead of the summer, football fans have a reason to rejoice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"1\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">The preseason officially begins when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/sports-nfl-cardinals\">Arizona Cardinals<\/a> and Carolina Panthers face off in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 6 on NBC. The rest of the first week of the preseason kicks off the following week on Aug. 13.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"2\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">As the start of the NFL regular season inches closer (Sept. 9), we are continuing to look at key offseason storylines for each of the league\u2019s 32 teams. We\u2019ve already looked at the top position battles to watch, rookies with the best chance of winning a starting job, and the players in the most danger of being cut, and now we shift our focus to the coaches.<\/p>\n<section class=\"RelatedStoriesV2-module-scss-module__Hqo30W__container\" data-gtm-action=\"Read_More\" data-variant=\"v2\" data-loading=\"true\" aria-busy=\"true\" aria-label=\"Loading related stories\">\n<p><h4 class=\"RelatedStoriesV2-module-scss-module__Hqo30W__headlineText\"><span class=\"RelatedStoriesV2-module-scss-module__Hqo30W__headlinePrefix\">Read More<!-- --> on <\/span><span>NFL<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"4\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">We\u2019ve already ranked the top quarterback and wide receiver rooms by division, and next up, we\u2019re power ranking the head coaches in each division. Next up is the NFC West.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageBlock-module-scss-module__rUGLEG__container\">\n<div class=\"ImageBlock-module-scss-module__rUGLEG__imageContainer\" style=\"padding-bottom:66.6711%\"><img id=\"12268201\" alt=\"Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay\" caption=\"Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams answers a question during a press conference after an organized team activities workout at Rams Village at the Warner Center on May 28, 2026 in Woodland Hills, California.  (Photo by Kevin Terrell\/Getty Images)\" credit=\"\" sourcealt=\"\" sourceimage=\"Getty Images\" sources=\"[]\" blockindex=\"5\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"7480\" height=\"4987\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 640px) 680px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=640&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 640w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=750&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 750w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=1000&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1000w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=1200&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1200w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=1360&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1360w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=1600&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1600w\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2277993527.jpg?w=1600&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"7\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">I\u2019m going to be honest \u2014 the only reason Sean McVay is No. 1 and not Kyle Shanahan is simply because the former has a Super Bowl ring and the latter doesn\u2019t. In my opinion, Shanahan is the better coach and offensive play-caller, but McVay has a Lombardi trophy and Shanahan doesn\u2019t<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"8\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">However, let\u2019s not short McVay on his career accomplishments either. He\u2019s got a 92-57 record, he\u2019s made the playoffs in seven of nine seasons, he\u2019s won four division titles, made three NFC Championship Game appearances, coached in two Super Bowls, and won one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"9\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">There\u2019s a strong chance McVay has the Rams back in the Super Bowl again this season after trading for Myles Garrett and potentially talking three-time Defensive Player fo the Year Aaron Donald out of retirement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"11\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">It\u2019s hard to believe after the run the 49ers have been on since 2019 that they haven\u2019t won a Super Bowl yet. Shanahan has led San Francisco to five playoff appearances, four NFC Championship Game appearances, won three division titles, and made two Super Bowl appearances, but he\u2019s come up short each time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"13\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">With Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Mykel Williams all coming back healthy, one of the top running backs in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, and a strong defense, the 49ers could make some noise in the playoffs again in 2026. It\u2019s possible Shanahan will have to get past McVay at some point if San Francisco makes a deep playoff run.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageBlock-module-scss-module__rUGLEG__container\">\n<div class=\"ImageBlock-module-scss-module__rUGLEG__imageContainer\" style=\"padding-bottom:66.6667%\"><img id=\"12268203\" alt=\"Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald\" caption=\"Head coach Mike McDonald of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with fans during the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl LX victory celebration and parade at Lumen Field on February 11, 2026 in Seattle, Washington.  (Photo by Steph Chambers\/Getty Images)\" credit=\"\" sourcealt=\"\" sourceimage=\"Getty Images\" sources=\"[]\" blockindex=\"14\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 640px) 680px, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=640&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 640w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=750&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 750w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=1000&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1000w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=1200&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1200w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=1360&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1360w, https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=1600&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1 1600w\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2261117958.jpg?w=1600&amp;quality=80&amp;webp=1\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"16\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">Yes, Macdonald has a Super Bowl ring too and Shanahan doesn\u2019t, but Macdonald is just two years into his coaching career, and he doesn\u2019t have nearly the skins on the wall as Shanahan does. Not to mention Seattle\u2019s Super Bowl run last year was fueled by some pretty historic play from the defense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"18\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">That said, Macdonald has a 24-10 record in two seasons with a Super Bowl championship. Most of the Seahawks\u2019 core is coming back, including quarterback Sam Darnold, star WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and that vaunted defense, so there\u2019s a chance Macdonald can close the gap between him and his peers rather quickly.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-4-mike-lafleur-arizona-cardinals\" class=\"Heading-module-scss-module__qpyFFW__blockHeading\" style=\"background-color:inherit;color:inherit\">4- Mike LaFleur, Arizona Cardinals<\/h2>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"20\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\">Poor Mike LaFleur. His brother is one of the top head coaches in the NFL, and fans will likely expect that same level of success out of him too. But LaFleur is walking into one of, if not the worst situation among first-year head coaches in Arizona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph-module-scss-module__0ovlkG__blockParagraph\" blockindex=\"21\" articletitle=\"Power Ranking the Head Coaches in the NFC West\" id=\"artend_links\">The Cardinals are starting Jacoby Brissett at quarterback and their defense has a hard time stopping everybody. Rookie running back Jeremiyah Love and former top-10 WR Marvin Harrison Jr. are the only reasons to watch this team. LaFleur will be lucky to win three games next year. But on the bright side, he could walk into Year 2 with Arch manning, Dante Moore, or another stud college QB to build around.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NFL training camps are in full swing, and as teams ease back into on-field drills and practices in the dead of the summer, football fans have a reason to rejoice. The preseason officially begins when the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers face off in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 6 on NBC&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/assets.newsweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2253215051-f0bf15.jpg?w=1200&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}