Who are the winningest NFL coaches of all time?
When the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 22, 2023, Bill Belichick became just the third head coach in NFL history to win 300 regular-season games.
With Belichick currently taking a break from head coaching, there's another active leader who's right behind him on the winningest coaches list: Andy Reid.
Reid has secured the fourth-most career wins in NFL history. His Kansas City Chiefs seem poised for sustained success, especially after their Super Bowl LVIII victory.
Let's take a look at which coaches have won the most games in NFL history (including the playoffs). Active coaches are denoted with an asterisk.
5. Tom Landry, 270 wins
Landry was the Dallas Cowboys' head coach for an NFL-record 29 years in a row and the team had 20 consecutive winning seasons, which is also a league record. Landry led Dallas to two Super Bowl wins, defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII. He was named the NFL's Coach of the Year in 1966 and the UPI NFL Coach of the Year in 1975. Landry was an innovator, with the 4-3 defense among his creations. He was named to the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
4. Andy Reid*, 293 wins
Reid is the only head coach in NFL history who has won 100 games with two franchises: the Philadelphia Eagles (coaching the team from 1999 through 2012) and the Chiefs (he has coached Kansas City since 2013). He led the Eagles on multiple deep playoff runs, including to a Super Bowl in 2004 and three straight conference finals from 2001 to 2003. However, he wasn't able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy until he arrived in Kansas City. He has turned the Chiefs into a juggernaut, winning three Super Bowls. Reid is an offensive mastermind and quarterback whisperer, and he'll likely continue to rack up wins moving forward with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce & Co.
3. George Halas, 324 wins
Halas was a co-founder of the NFL and creator of the Bears. For 10 years, he served as player-coach-executive forthe Bears (which is how he earned the nickname "Mr. Everything"). In 1930, he retired as a player and focused on ownership, but he would later return to coach the Bears several times. Halas led the Bears to eight NFL championships, tying Belichick's number of titles. Halas coached the team for 40 years and had just six losing seasons. He helped create the T-formation system and used it to set an NFL record for the biggest blowout in league history: a 73-0 win over the Washington team in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. Halas was selected as the AP's NFL Coach of the Year in 1963 and 1965, and he was named to the NFL's 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
2. Bill Belichick, 333 wins
Belichick is considered by some as the greatest coach in all of professional sports, as he has won an NFL-record eight Super Bowls (six as a head coach with the Patriots and two as an assistant coach with the Giants). He also ranks first among all NFL coaches in playoff wins with 31. Belichick was named the AP's NFL Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010. Many franchises have hired away Belichick's assistants and tried to replicate his "Patriot Way," but it hasn't been the same without him. If Belichick returns to coaching, he is just 26 regular-season wins from surpassing Don Shula as the winningest regular-season coach of all time. If you count playoff and regular-season wins, Belichick trails Shula by just 14 wins.
1. Don Shula, 347 wins
After playing in the NFL as a defensive back for seven seasons, Shula decided to retire and become a coach. He got his first head-coaching opportunity in 1963 with the Baltimore Colts, whom he led to the NFL championship in 1968. From 1970 through 1995, Shula had a legendary run as head coach of the Dolphins. Shula led the Dolphins to a pair of Super Bowl victories (in Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII). Miami had a perfect season in 1972, making Shula the only coach in NFL history to go undefeated. He was named the AP's NFL Coach of the Year in 1964, 1967, 1968 and 1972. Whether you're just counting regular-season wins (328) or including playoff wins (347), Shula is the winningest coach in NFL history.
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