How Many NFL Coaches Never Played Football?

How many NFL coaches never played football? The answer may surprise you. According to a recent study, nearly half of all NFL coaches have never played the game at any level.

Introduction

It is often said that football is a game of inches. The margin for error is so small that even the slightest mistake can result in a touchdown or a turnover. Because of this, it is important for coaches to be able to not only identify these mistakes, but also have the knowledge and experience to correct them.

Despite the importance of coaching, there are surprisingly many NFL coaches who have never played football at any level. In fact, of the 32 NFL teams, there are 11 head coaches who have never played football at any level. Here is a list of those coaches:

-Adam Gase (Miami Dolphins)
-Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins)
-Freddie Kitchens (Cleveland Browns)
-Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals)
-Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers)
-Anthony Lynn (Los Angeles Chargers)
-Brian Schottenheimer (Seattle Seahawks)
-Adam Henry (Tennessee Titans)
-Dirk Koetter (Atlanta Falcons)
-Pat Shurmur (New York Giants)
-Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears)

Coaches Who Never Played Football

It may surprise you to know that not all NFL coaches played football in their younger days. In fact, there are several coaches who never even stepped onto the field to play. These coaches have gone on to have successful careers in coaching despite never playing the sport.

Bill Belichick

Belichick was born in 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Annapolis, Maryland. He attended Wesleyan University, where he played quarterback for the school’s football team. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 1975 NFL Draft, but was released before the start of the season. In 1976, he was hired as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wesleyan University. He then took a job as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts in 1975. He moved to the New York Giants in 1979, where he served as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator before being hired as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns in 1991.

Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll is one of the most successful NFL coaches of all time, winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks and reaching the playoffs in 10 of his 11 seasons with the team. Yet, despite his success on the sidelines, Carroll never played a single down of football at any level.

Carroll instead played college football at Pacific, where he was a defensive back and special teams player. He then spent one season as a graduate assistant at Arkansas before moving on to coaching jobs at Iowa State, Ohio State and the New York Jets. It wasn’t until 1984 that Carroll began his NFL coaching career as the defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills.

While Carroll may be the most successful NFL coach to never play football, he’s far from the only one. There are several other head coaches who also never suited up for a single game, including Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers and John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens.

John Harbaugh

John Harbaugh is an American football coach who is the head coach of the National Football League’s Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at Miami University, and earned a degree in education.

Sean Payton

Sean Payton (born December 29, 1963) is an American football head coach and former player who is the current head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University.

Payton began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant with the New York Giants in 1999, before serving as the quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, the Cowboys hired him as their head coach, a position he held for four seasons before leaving to join the Saints in January 2010.

Under Payton’s leadership, the Saints made the playoffs five times between 2010 and 2018, winning Super Bowl XLIV in 2010, their first championship since winning Super Bowl XX in 1986. He was suspended for one year as a result of his role in the team’s bounty scandal.

Bruce Arians

Arians was born on October 3, 1952, in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Foster Park Elementary School and Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia. He then attended Virginia Tech, where he played quarterback from 1971 to 1974. After college, he was drafted by the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks in the 1975 NFL Draft, but was released before the season started.

Conclusion

So, while it’s true that the vast majority of NFL coaches have played football at some level, there are definitely a few exceptions to the rule. And, as the league continues to evolve, it’s possible that we may see even more coaches who have never played the game at any level.