according to a list published by Jason Whitlock on Fox Sports, the following are the 10 best and worst NFL coaches so far this season


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10 Best

1: Jim Zorn -- Redskins

Doesn't get nearly enough credit for turning Jason Campbell into a legitimate starting quarterback. Campbell was headed toward being a draft bust before Zorn arrived. Last year Todd Collins saved Washington's season filling in for Campbell late. This season Campbell is completing 64 percent of his passes and has avoided the big mistakes while leading the Skins to a 6-3 start in the league's best division.


2: Bill Belichick -- Patriots

I was in the house when Tom Brady went down in the season opener. I wanted to write that Bernard Pollard's low blow ended the Patriots' dynasty. I texted Jeff George's cell number to New England general manager Scott Pioli. The Patriots were done. Obviously I underestimated Belichick. Depending on what happens tonight against the Jets, he has the Patriots atop the AFC East and in position to be considered the AFC's second-best team.


3: John Fox -- Panthers

He entered the season on the hot seat and things got considerably warmer when he was forced to suspend his best player (Steve Smith) for the first two games. The Panthers started 2-0, are 7-2 overall and off the radar in terms of Super Bowl threats. No one will pay attention to the Panthers until they face the Giants in late December.


4: Jeff Fisher -- Titans

Most people would put Fisher at the top of this list. I don't because the Titans are undefeated mainly because Vince Young got hurt and went momentarily kooky. A healthy VY and the Titans are 7-2 and just another good team in the AFC. Young's meltdown was a blessing for Fisher. He gets out from underneath the mistake the Titans made drafting Young.


5:Mike Smith -- Falcons

I honestly don't know anything about Smith. I don't know where he came from. I don't know whether he's a defensive-minded coach or offensive. But there's no doubt he's done a wonderful job developing Matt Ryan. And I'll give Smith credit for signing Michael Turner and making him a feature back. Even if the 6-3 Falcons lose the rest of their games, Smith's rookie season has been a smashing success. He and Ryan have made Atlantans forget Michael Vick.


6: Tom Coughlin -- Giants

The Giants dumped Jeremy Shockey, lost Osi Umenyiora, have to deal with Plaxico Burress and play in the NFC East. Coughlin is putting together his best coaching performance. But everyone expected the defending champs to be good.


7: Lovie Smith -- Bears

The Bears are pretty damn good when Kyle Orton plays quarterback. They're averaging 26 points. I thought it was crazy to open the season with Orton as the starter. My only complaint with Lovie was the squib kick at the Atlanta game that set the stage for a terrible loss.


8: Ken Whisenhunt -- Cardinals

I give him points for resurrecting Kurt Warner as a franchise quarterback. But Whisenhunt loses a few points because he coaches in the NFC West. Three of Arizona's six victories are against the 49ers and Rams. The Cardinals are a nice story. But there's no reason to take them seriously. I don't like their running game. And good teams will take advantage of Arizona's defense.


9: John Harbaugh -- Ravens

He's riding the second-best rookie quarterback (Joe Flacco) to playoff contention. Harbaugh also gets the luxury of coaching the Ravens at a time when Ray Lewis is putting the finishing touches on a Hall of Fame career and making his closing argument for being the best middle linebacker of all time. It's illegal to run on the Ravens this season.


10: Jon Gruden -- Buccaneers

He lost his quarterback (Brian Griese) and tailback (Cadillac Williams) and the Bucs are still sitting at 6-3. The Bucs have a mediocre offensive line and 50-year-old Joey Galloway is the team's deep threat. Somehow Gruden gets this offense in the end zone often enough for the Bucs to be competitive.

10 Worst

1: Andy Reid -- Eagles

Twice this season Reid has taken the game out of the hands of Donovan McNabb and tried to win at crunch time with his running game. Here's a coach who loves to throw on damn near every down except when the game is on the line. I also blame Reid for the Eagles failing to trade a second-round draft pick for Tony Gonzalez. Other than the one season with Terrell Owens, McNabb has made a living throwing the ball to the James Thrashes of the world. It's ridiculous. I'm convinced the Eagles don't want to win it all.


2: Romeo Crennel -- Browns

The new Art Shell is leading the league's most disappointing team. Crennel can't tame Kellen Winslow's mouth or bad attitude. Crennel can't get Braylon Edwards to hold onto the football. The 3-6 Browns quit against the Broncos. Crennel played a role in the Browns giving Derek Anderson a new contract. Yeah, Romeo is making Charlie Weis seem like a Notre Dame success story.


3: Norv Turner -- Chargers

Philip Rivers is allegedly having the best season of any quarterback in the league. LaDainian Tomlinson, for my money, is still the best running back in the league. OK, the Chargers lost Shawne Merriman to a knee injury. That doesn't excuse San Diego's 4-5 record in a division that includes the Chiefs and the Raiders. Norv is a very mediocre head coach.


4: Jack Del Rio -- Jaguars

He's the captain of the most undisciplined ship in the NFL. Thank God Jacksonville is off-Broadway. No one pays attention to the multiple arrests and countless off-the-field problems Del Rio's players encounter. The Jags are as bad as the Bengals. Somehow Del Rio has avoided being as big a laughingstock as Marvin Lewis. Jacksonville lost to Cincy. Enough said.


5: Wade Phillips -- Cowboys

If the Cowboys don't rally and make the playoffs, Phillips will likely be the scapegoat and fired. He deserves it, even though Jerry Jones is the main reason the Cowboys underachieve. Jones hired Phillips to oversee the bunch of talented bad boys Jones showered with enough money to make the players uncooperative. Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Terrell Owens and Jessica Simpson are just a handful of high-profile idiots Phillips is expected to handle. Phillips is blowing it. But it's a job that was too much for Bill Parcells, too.


6: Mike McCarthy -- Packers

With Brett Favre at the helm, the Packers were one play from the Super Bowl. With Favre run off to New York, the Packers are 4-5 and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. You have to blame McCarthy and general manager Ted Thompson for Favre's absence. Aaron Rodgers has been pretty damn good. He's not the problem. Apparently he's not the answer either. McCarthy wanted to be the big hero for letting Favre go. Well, now McCarthy and Thompson look like fools.


7: Mike Singletary -- 49ers

The end of the "Monday Night Football" contest against the Cardinals is all the evidence you need to understand why I wanted Singletary to pass on the San Francisco job. Singletary has a chance to be a great NFL coach. Unfortunately, he took a head coaching job before he was ready. Singletary can't manage the clock. All the whining about the refs spotting the ball wrong or too quickly just points to Singletary's inexperience and the folly of having Mike Martz as an unsupervised offensive coordinator.


8:Mike Shanahan -- Broncos

Would someone please talk John Elway out of retirement so he can save Shanahan's reputation? I consider Shanahan one of the game's great coaches. It's getting harder and harder to make a pro-Shanahan argument.


9: Marvin Lewis -- Bengals

The Bengals avoided 0-16 by beating the Jaguars, although 1-15 is a real possibility. Lewis created the Chad Johnson situation. Lewis didn't learn from the Denny Green mess and allowed Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh to take over the Bengals the way Randy Moss and Cris Carter once did the Vikings. Let that be a lesson to any future NFL coach. Don't let your wide receivers determine the personality of your football team. It cost Denny Green his job in Minny and it's likely to cost Marvin in Cincy.


10: Sean Payton -- Saints

Someone has to take the blame for New Orleans' 4-5 record. I don't have a real problem with Payton. It's impossible to win in the Big Easy. There are just too many distractions in N.O. to build a successful football franchise.

Any list that has Jeff Fisher at #4 and no Tony Sparano on the best list, is a bogus list

Any list that has Jeff Fisher at #4 and no Tony Sparano on the best list, is a bogus list

agreed. Sparano should be all over the top 10 list

plus the comment about how everyone knew the Giants would be good this year is pure BS

Whitlock is an asshole

Woah woah woah woah woah ...... Where is Rod Marinelli???

Sporano should be there

Whitlock is an asshole

Must be why you never copy and paste his work here.

jon harbaugh

The list looks pretty shitty to me. What has Lewis done to keep him from being closer to the worst?

This list is all fucked up

Woah woah woah woah woah ...... Where is Rod Marinelli???

Rod Marinelli is respected all around the league for his great coaching ability, and handling of players and their morale. if you haven't noticed, for the first time in forever.....the players are practicing, playing, and studying hard everyday and are focused on one thing.....football. when is the last time you could say that in Detroit?

it's going to take a little while to undo the shit that Millen got the Lions into...it's not going to happen overnight. it definitely isn't Rod Marinelli's fault you dumb fuck. anybody with half a brain in Nebraska knows that.

become a Bears fan you faggot, and shut up.

on the topic of the list.....Tom Coughlin should be #1, IMO. for a team that really shouldn't have been in the SB, let alone win it, to lose so many key ingredients on defense...and having to put up with Plaxico.....Coughlin deserves so much fucking credit for what he has going on in NY this season.

also, why the hell is Mike Singletary on the list? wow, apparently being an interem coach for a couple weeks deserves to be shit on by fat boy Whitlock.

piggy Whitlock also has Wade Phillips on the list, but is also pretty much saying that he nor anybody has a chance to succeed in Dallas with Jerry Jones. well, which one is it, tubbs? I personally don't think it's Phillips, but the attitudes of the star players. the ego's are waaaaaay too big for one man to control. Dallas is by far the best team in the NFL on paper, but damn, that's paper. as I'm typing this, Tony Romo (who comes off as a gladiator team player to the media) probably has his sore pinky with the paper cut on it up Jessica Simpson's twat. and that's the problem in Dallas.....Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and all of the rest of the QB's in the league would be on the field with that kind of team potential.

oh well...Whitlock is still fat and gay