CBS Sports Ranks 20 Greatest NFL Coaches of All Time
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- CBS Sports had six NFL reporters vote on the 20 greatest coaches in NFL history, spanning every era from the league's inaugural season through 2025, with the panel including two coaches who have yet to earn Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement
- Tony Dungy (ranked 20th) became the first Black head coach to win the Super Bowl, leading the Colts past the Patriots in the 2006 AFC title game before beating the Bears in Super Bowl XLI; he is also synonymous with the Tampa 2 defense
- Bud Grant (ranked 19th) won 260 regular-season games and 26 playoff games across a 28-year career and was the first coach to lead one team to four Super Bowls, though his Vikings lost them all by a combined 72-27
- Weeb Ewbank (ranked 18th) won championships with both the Colts (the 1958 NFL title game, considered the greatest game ever played) and the Jets (Super Bowl III as 18.5-point underdogs), and remains the Jets' all-time leader with 71 wins
- Hank Stram (ranked 17th) was the first football coach to wear a microphone, producing iconic soundbites during the Chiefs' 23-7 upset of the Vikings in Super Bowl IV, the final game before the AFL-NFL merger
- Mike Shanahan (ranked 16th) won three Super Bowls from 1994-98 but remains outside the Hall of Fame, a fact the source attributes to his post-Denver mediocrity; his coaching tree includes Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Matt LaFleur
Why it matters: The ranking's most striking inclusion is **Mike Shanahan** at No. 16 — a three-time Super Bowl winner still outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which the source attributes to his lack of post-Denver success. The presence of two non-Canton coaches in the top 20 shows the panel weighed career impact beyond enshrinement, with Shanahan's prolific coaching tree cited as a potential future path to induction.
