Head Coaches on the Field

It is almost expected that an MLB manager has a decent playing resume under his belt before he adds a few pounds and people start calling him 'Skip'. Lou Pinella, Dusty Baker, Joe Torre, Joe Girardi... the list goes on. In the NFL, it's not quite as likely that you'll find a head coach with a ton of NFL experience between the white lines. Here's a look at the current head coaches and how their playing careers went.

*This is roughly in order of how 'well' they did, taking into consideration both their achievements, and where they played.

Mike Singletary is a Hall of Fame linebacker. In 12 seasons as a Chicago Bear he missed only 13 games, and was named AP Defensive Player of the Year twice.

Jack Del Rio saw significant playing time as a rookie inside linebacker for the Saints in 1985, but made his name as a Cowboy ('89-'91) and Viking ('92-'95). He was a second team UPI All-Pro in 1995.

Dick Jauron played eight years for the Lions and Bengals. After rushing for almost 3,000 yards at Yale, he racked up 25 career interceptions as a free safety before a knee injury forced him to retire.

Jim Zorn was Seattle's starting quarterback from his rookie year in 1976 (also the franchise's rookie season) until 1984, when he was replaced by Dave Krieg. Zorn finished 18 games under .500 and had an unsightly 111-141 TD-INT ratio, but was known for his connections with wide receiver Steve Largent and even made some all-pro lists in 1978.

Ken Whisenhunt played in seven seasons as an NFL tight end, three of those as a starter in Atlanta. Known as a blocker, he managed 62 grabs and five touchdowns.

Gary Kubiak is a really well-known career backup. He spent all of his nine seasons as the second stringer in Denver; he was drafted the same year that the Broncos traded for the rights to John Elway.

Jeff Fisher was a career special teamer in his four season with the Bears. He took a punt return for a touchdown in 1981 as a rookie, and nabbed five interceptions as a backup defensive back.

Sean Payton, Mike Smith, and Tom Cable all had extremely brief brushes with professional football. Payton filled in with the Bears for a couple games during the 1987 strike, Smith spent a season in the CFL, and Cable was on the Colts roster as a guard in the mid-'80s.

These guys had very nice college careers, at pretty big name schools:

Jim Mora Jr. was a defensive back at Washington from 1980-'83.

Lovie Smith was a two-time All-American at linebacker and safety at Tulsa in the late-1970s.

Andy Reid was an offensive lineman at BYU at the beginning of their hayday in the 1980s.

Wade Phillips was a three-year starter at Houston, where he set the school's mark for most career tackles (still standing) as a linebacker.

Norv Turner spent a couple years as Dan Fouts's backup at Oregon, and started during his senior year in 1974.

Mike Tomlin was a wide receiver and tight end at William and Mary, where he caught 20 touchdown passes.

John Harbaugh was a defensive back at Miami (Ohio).

These guys had decent college careers at somewhat smaller schools:

Rex Ryan and his brother Rob Ryan played on the Southwestern Oklahoma St. defensive line.

At Idaho St. Marvin Lewis was an All-Big Sky linebacker.

Jim Caldwell started all four years as a defensive back for Iowa in the 1970s.

Tom Coughlin set a single-season receiving record at Syracuse in 1967, where he was a wingback.

Raheem Morris spent time as a starting safety and cornerback at Hofstra.

Jim Schwartz was a linebacker for Georgetown for four years in the mid-1980s.

Mike McCarthy and John Fox both had pretty nice college experiences, though McCarthy was at NAIA Baker University as a tight end, while Fox spent just two years as a defensive back for San Diego St.

Steve Spagnuolo, Josh McDaniels, Eric Mangini, Bill Belichick, and Tony Sporano all played at even smaller schools, while Brad Childress spent a season at Illinois, where he couldn't catch on as a quarterback or wide receiver.

Todd Haley is dead last in this list. Although he has some family connections to the NFL (his dad, Dick Haley, played in the NFL for five seasons and has worked for the Dolphins, Steelers, and Jets), he played golf in college before becoming an assistant with the Jets in 1995.

Week 10

Denver at Cleveland: Brady Quinn makes his debut after a short week. Luckily, he is facing a terrible defense. Cleveland has played OK recently, and will win, 34-28.

New Orleans at Atlanta: Huge divisional match up, and Atlanta's chance to really announce their presence in a division with a ton of wins. Matt Ryan will have another solid week, but the Saints pull it out, 27-21.

Tennessee at Chicago: The Titans are going to flop sooner or later, but not against the Bears, especially not against Rex Grossman. Titans 20-10.

Jacksonville at Detroit: The Lions are starting to get those decent performances that lead to an eventual win, sort of like what Cincinnati did for the last month. The Jaguars are desperate and their toughness has been challenged. Look for Jack Del Rio to fire them up for this match up. Jags 24-17.

Seattle at Miami: Miami should get their running game back on track. Dolphins 30-10.

Green Bay at Minnesota: Who knows? The Packers have had success against Brad Childress, but this time the Vikings have a passing threat. If Jared Allen sits with a shoulder injury, the Packers might throw for 300 yards. Still, I'm expecting a big day from Adrian PEterson, and the Vikings to win 24-21.

Buffalo at New England: Both teams have been wildly inconsistent, game to game and even quarter to quarter in the Bills' case. I'll give the Pats home field advantage a nod, and say they take it 23-16.

St. Louis at New York Jets: The Rams offense was thwarted at home against Arizona. Even though Brett Favre is throwing interceptions at a mind-numbing pace, I'll give the Jets the benefit of the doubt against a two-win team, 24-13.

Baltimore at Houston: The Texans are probably the most consistent team among the hopeless in the NFL. They show up every week, and make some plays. The Ravens defense will dominate them though. Ravens 20-17.

Carolina at Oakland: Panthers 31-14.

Indianapolis at Pittsburgh: The Steelers get no breaks the rest of the way. The Colts still aren't that impressive. Steelers 28-27.

Kansas City at San Diego: The Chargers should be able to handle the Chiefs. And even if they can't, Kansas City will self-destruct in the second half. Chargers 24-16.

New York Giants at Philadelphia: I think the Giants will be the best team in the NFL for the rest of the season. They have the best combination of offense, defense, and special teams. Philly is a wild card with all that talent, but the Giants can overcome that. New York, 30-20.

San Francisco at Arizona: Cardinals win in rare Monday Night Football appearance, 35-28.