Philadelphia's Andy Reid Started 2011 With Most Victories in NFL

Sep 9, 2011
Carroll Trosclair

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Andy Reid - Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol, Wikiimedia Commons

Bill Belichick of New England had second most wins and second best winning percentage. Here are other stats for current National Football League coaches.

If you thought New England's Bill Belichick was the winningest coach in the National Football League, you'd be wrong on two counts. Starting the 2011 season, Andy Reid of Philadelphia had two more victories (128) than Belichick and Jim Caldwell of Indianapolis had the best winning percentage, 75 percent.

But Belichick's 126 wins was not only second best, but was 53 victories more than the 73 that third place John Fox of Denver had. And his 71.6 percent winning margin was also second best in the league. With those two marks, the New England coach might not be the winningest, but he could certainly lay claim to have the best overall record.

NFL coaches live by their numbers and the current crop offers a wealth of numbers for fans to crunch and compare.

Andy Reid in 13th Year at Philadelphia

Belichick is second in another category. Reid is in his 13th year as head coach at Philadelphia. Belichick is in his 12th year as head coach at New England. Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati and Jack del Rio of Jacksonville are next in longevity, both being in their ninth year. John Fox is in his first season at Denver, but was head coach at Carolina for nine years.

Coaches in the NFC South have the best division record going into the current season. They had 115 victories and 65 losses, a 65 winning percentage. The AFC East was next with a 175-97--64.3. The NFC West had the worst winning record, only 42 percent.

Among coaches who have been in their jobs three years or more, Jim Schwartz of Detroit and Steve Spagnuoto of St. Louis went into the 2011 season with the worst winning records. They each had 8-24-25% records.

Five First Year Head Coaches

The league has five coaches in their first year as head coaches, plus Fox who is in his first year at Denver. Jason Garrett if Dallas and Leslie Frazier of Minnesota were hired in mid season last year.

Mike Tomlin, 39, of Pittsburgh is the youngest coach in the league. Tom Couglin, 65, of the New York Giants is the oldest. Belichick, Chan Gaisley of Buffalo, Norm Turner of San Diego, Mike Shanahan of Washington and Pete Carroll of Seattle are all 59.

And if you're really into trivia: The most common first name among the 32 head coaches was Mike, as in Shanahan, McCarthy, Tomlin and Munchak. Mike Ditka is probably proud.