{"id":66272,"date":"2021-01-13T12:45:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T12:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscroll.com\/?p=66272"},"modified":"2023-08-22T11:06:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T11:06:52","slug":"30-nfl-coaching-decisions-that-ruined-reputations-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.sportscroll.com\/30-nfl-coaching-decisions-that-ruined-reputations-forever\/","title":{"rendered":"30 NFL Coaching Decisions That Ruined Reputations Forever"},"content":{"rendered":"

It could be argued, and strongly, that NFL head coaches have one of the loneliest jobs in sports. They’re responsible for all of the key game-related decisions and if things go wrong, it’s their head on a plate. However, the reality is that even at the highest level, there are some strange plays and poor moments of judgment.<\/p>\n

So today, we’ll take a look at 30 of the most controversial, ridiculous, and purely dumb decisions made by NFL coaches. Of course, some of these coaches<\/a> were one and done in terms of seasons coached because they were too inept, but there are some Super Bowl winners on the list as well. Check out the list below via Complex.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

30. Matt Patricia<\/h3>\n

There really isn’t anything good to say about Patricia’s tenure in charge of the Detroit Lions. The team wallowed in despair under his tutelage with few upsides. Patricia is a good coordinator but was a terrible head coach. Their loss to the Minnesota Vikings in 2020 flaunted all of his inept traits. He ordered a stretch run on 3rd-and-1 from the one-yard line with Adrian Peterson, who is getting up there in age at this stage. It obviously didn’t work.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Lions and former Patriots staffer Bob Quinn fired playoff coach Jim Caldwell to hire Patricia, who trashed their goodwill with a brutal win-loss record over three painful seasons. His entire run as head coach was essentially a horrific coaching decision. It all culminated in an atrocious Thanksgiving Day loss to the also terrible Houston Texans, after which Detroit ownership had seen enough. This showed how inept coaching can be even at the highest level.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

29. Jim Schwartz<\/h3>\n

Schwartz spent five seasons as the Detroit Lions’ head coach, his only time in the hot seat as the top dog. The Lions made the postseason in Schwartz’s second year in charge but didn’t do much else to please their fans during his tenure. Furthermore, he became notorious for the occasional tactical gaffe, with one of the worst coming in 2012 against the Houston Texans after a blatant illegal touchdown.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Justin Forsett’s knee hit the ground early, it was clear that the officials would overturn the touchdown. But Schwartz threw down his challenge flag anyway. However, the rules state that illegally throwing down a challenge flag results in a 15-yard penalty. Furthermore, the play immediately becomes unreviewable. As a result, the illegal touchdown stood and it was all Schwartz’s fault.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sports Illustrated<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

28. Sam Rutigliano<\/h3>\n

The Cleveland Browns have experienced a lot of heartbreak through the ages with many bad decisions on and off the field. However, the phrase ‘Red Right 88′ sends shivers down the spines of even the most hardened Ohio natives. Browns’ head coach Rutigliano called this infamous play at the end of a 1980 playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. It ultimately cost them a place in the AFC Championship Game.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Bleacher Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With seconds left, Rutigliano called for Brian Sipe to throw a pass from the 13. A field goal would have won the game, but the coach didn’t have faith in his kicker. But the Raiders picked off Brian Sipe and cruelly took with them Browns’ hopes of postseason glory. In this case, the safe option was obviously the right one. But Rutigliano failed to make the correct call, and the Browns paid the price.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

27. Barry Switzer<\/h3>\n

Switzer proved that winning a Super Bowl doesn’t make somebody a great coach after he inherited Jimmy Johnson’s brilliant winners. They did win the Vince Lombardi Trophy in his second year in charge, but it was all downhill from there. In his first season, Switzer showed that he didn’t share the same tactical brilliance as his predecessor in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles with two terrible decisions.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sports Illustrated<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With two minutes left, the Cowboys sat on their own 29-yard line. Switzer told his offense to attack on 4th-and-1 with the game tied. He put his faith in Emmitt Smith, but the Eagles stopped the running back. The referees even gave Switzer a second opportunity to make the right call. But he didn’t, and Philly sacked Smith again. Three plays later they scored the winning field goal.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

26. Mike Ditka<\/h3>\n

Ditka was heavily responsible for one of the worst trades in NFL history in 1999 as head coach of New Orleans. The Saints traded all six of their 1999 draft choices as well as their first and third-round picks in 2000 for Washington’s Ricky Williams. Ditka pleaded with GM Charley Casserly to make the deal happen as he loved Williams after an unbelievable showing for the University of Texas.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Needless to say, this turned out to be one of the worst decisions ever. The Saints fired Ditka after a 3-13 season with minimal contribution from Williams. Furthermore, the whole scenario was more like a circus than a professional sports environment. At one point Williams wore a wedding dress and posed with a suited Ditka for a picture. This was just bizarre and the trade haunted Ditka for perpetuity.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

25. Don Shula<\/h3>\n

David Woodley was inconsistent for a significant chunk of his Dolphins’ career. Though he played well on his day, those days simply weren’t enough for the liking of Miami fans. This also meant that Shula regularly turned to veteran backup Don Strock when Woodley just wasn’t showing enough. The Dolphins met the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII, where Woodley started hot but didn’t keep that success up throughout the whole game.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a game where went nine-for-21 for 87 yards with three interceptions, Shula could easily have dropped him. They were fortunate to make the Super Bowl, but he stayed loyal to his starter. However, he could and should have replaced him with Strock earlier in the game. With less than two minutes left on the clock, Strock fired the Dolphins back into the game but it was too little too late.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Bleacher Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

24. Bill O’Brien<\/h3>\n

Power clearly corrupted O’Brien during his joint tenure as Houston Texans’ GM and head coach. It’s rarely a good idea to entrust both positions to an individual in the modern game because the scale of both jobs are so big. Furthermore, O’Brien answered to himself on a day-to-day basis, which wasn’t healthy. One of most O’Brien’s most striking decisions was to trade star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: NBC Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hopkins was one of if not the best wideouts in the entire league. Meanwhile, O’Brien had one of the league’s top quarterbacks in DeShaun Watson. O’Brien had a poor relationship with Hopkins but the choice to trade him for David Johnson and a second-round pick was pure insanity. Needless to say, O’Brien’s ineptitude resulted in the Texans firing him after four straight losses early in 2020.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

23. Bobby Petrino<\/h3>\n

Petrino took over the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach job in 2007 before one of their most disastrous campaigns in recent memory. First, quarterback Michael Vick went to jail because of his dogfighting scandal. The Falcons were rubbish without their star quarterback and compiled a 3-10 record with three games left in the regular season. Petrino jumped ship and took the Arkansas Razorbacks’ job.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just the previous day he promised the owner that he would definitely stay on as Atlanta coach. As well as lying to Arthur Blank he made one of the most cowardly decisions in NFL history. Instead of speaking to his players, he left non-personalized four-line messages in each other their lockers before running off into the shadows. This was incredibly pathetic because he could have and should have been man enough to speak to them.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

22. Andy Reid<\/h3>\n

Reid coached the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 seasons and made his fair share of good and bad decisions throughout that time period. Of course, he’s one of the most respected coaches in the game in 2020, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Super Bowl winner. Reid didn’t ruin his own reputation but he definitely tarnished Juan Castillo’s by giving him the defensive coordinator job in 2011.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nobody expected this because Castillo hadn’t coached defense since his time at Texas A&M in 1989. The former offensive line coach experienced a nightmare season and the Eagles fired him in 2012. But at the end of the day, it was Reid’s call to give Castillo the job in the first place. Castillo is still in football as offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears but may struggle to find another coordinator job anytime soon.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Bleacher Report<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

21. Bill Parcells<\/h3>\n

A New York Giants’ icon and NFL Hall of Famer, Parcells is one of the league’s all-time great head coaches. But even the very best are capable of making implausible decisions from time to time. His moment of poor judgment while in charge of the New York Jets in 1997. To be fair, the toxic nature of that franchise is enough to bring anybody down, so it’s difficult to blame him too much.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: Sports Illustrated<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Jets were behind with seconds left on the clock against the Detroit Lions. They were at the Lions’ nine-yard line with the opportunity to kick a field goal and send the game to overtime. But instead, Parcells ordered a halfback pass. Of course, the Lions intercepted it and ended the Jets’ postseason dreams. One kick could have changed the entire course of history.<\/p>\n

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

20. Jim Zorn<\/h3>\n

Dan Snyder stripped Zorn of playcalling duties, which says a lot. In 2009, Zorn ordered one of the most bizarre trick play attempts ever. Trick plays are only great if a team can pull them off correctly. But when they don’t, coaches catch a lot of heat, especially in the social media era. This was a fake field goal attempt which still sounds wacky even though it was over a decade ago.<\/p>\n