# JP Acosta: Acosta ranked all 32 NFL head coaches into a tiered "pyramid," with Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDonald, Sean Payton and Dan Campbell in the top Super Bowl-caliber tier, the "leaders of men" and "scheme lords" (including Andy Reid and both Harbaughs) next, then "need to see more," "can win you games/can lose you games," first-year coaches, and finally a "first coach fired potential" tier of Zac Taylor, Dan Quinn and Aaron Glenn.

**Claimed:** Jul 22, 2026
**Pundit:** JP Acosta — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/jp-acosta
**Outlet:** Pushing the Pile (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/pushing-the-pile-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/serve.castfire.com/audio/8174582/8174582_2026-04-12-050822.192.mp3?rssID=6037

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> So this Super Bowl caliber tier, I have Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDonald, Sean Payton, and Dan Campbell in this tier.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **So this Super Bowl caliber tier, I have Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDonald, Sean Payton, and Dan Campbell in this tier... The leaders of men like you see right there are the Harbaugh's, Jim and John, and Mike Vrabel... Then we have the scheme lords... And you got Ben Johnson, Andy Reid, D'Amico Ryans, Kevin O'Connell, Liam Cohen, and Matt LaFleur... So this need to see more tier is Brian Schottenheimer of Dallas Cowboys, Dave Canales from Carolina Panthers, Kellen Moore from the New Orleans Saints, and Indianapolis Colts Shane Steichen... So this tier is Kevin Stefanski, Todd Bowles, Robert Saleh, Mike McCarthy, and Nick Sirianni... But these are the new first year head coaches, Jeff Halfley, Joe Brady, Jesse Mentor, Clint Kubiak, Todd Monken, and Mike Lafleur... And then we have the final tier of first coach fired potential, and that is Zach Taylor, Dan Quinn, and Aaron Glenn.**
  - Kind: Head Coach Rankings
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## More head coach rankings

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Jesse Holley: Jesse picked the 49ers to beat Seattle (expecting Sam Darnold to revert to form), the Texans over New England, and the Rams over the Bears. He also called Oregon's tight end a first-round player and ranked the Giants' new head coach as the best in the NFC East ahead of Quinn and Schottenheimer. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ac1244ea-9b1b-4b60-b3e6-f7beb62adf4c (scored 25)
- Gregg Rosenthal: In a snake-draft-style ranking of the NFL's returning head coaches, Rosenthal made the even-numbered selections, taking Sean McVay second overall, Kevin O'Connell fourth, John Harbaugh sixth and on down to Raheem Morris at 26. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f1dd8036-757c-4f3e-9089-2429df99c92a (scored 62.2)
- Colin Cowherd: Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. He also names the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/432d7268-d5b1-49f6-9435-12c9442d3023 (scored 47.62)
- Ollie Connolly: Connolly ranked his Coach of the Year top five with Kyle Shanahan first, Mike Vrabel second, Mike McDonald third, Liam Cohen fourth and Ben Johnson fifth, naming Shanahan his winner. He also predicted the Broncos would blow out the Chiefs on Christmas night. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c07e055c-4ff1-47bf-9062-548b240402ae (scored 75)
- John Middlekauff: In a mid-July podcast, Middlecoff reacted to the Garrett Wilson extension and Jauan Jennings' contract unhappiness, predicting Jennings is San Francisco's clear No. 1 receiver and will top 80 catches; he also expects the Browns to keep Quinshon Judkins on the roster, ranks Mahomes as the top quarterback, calls Dak a top-12 QB, backs Bo Nix as a top-15 starter, says the Bears should win 10 games but must be ranked behind Denver, and would take Dan Campbell over Nick Sirianni. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/32b8564c-773f-4dcf-94bf-654d342ddcec (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan: Sullivan ranks the seven NFL head coaches whose seats are hottest after Week 2 of the 2026 season, with Todd Bowles at No. 1 and Matt LaFleur at No. 7. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dd5ee657-c1a1-4e3b-8acc-08c30e897a27 (not settled)

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