The Best New York Giants Coaches of All Time

Ranker NFL
Updated October 2, 2023 3.1K votes 876 voters
Over 800 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best New York Giants Coaches of All Time

Who is the best New York Giants coach of all time? There have been many New York Giants coaches since the team got its start, many of whom could be considered among the greatest NFL coaches of all time. Keeping in mind Super Bowl wins, playoff appearances and NFL awards, who is the best Giants coach ever? Which New York Giants head coaches do you love?

If you follow football, you know that former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was a blessing to the franchise. Coughlin led the team to two Super Bowl victories from 2007-2011, both of which were wins against the expected favorites the New England Patriots. As great as Coughlin was, longtime Giants fan also have a soft spot for the legendary Bill Parcells. Coach Parcells was head coach of the Giants from 1983-1990, and also led the team to two Super Bowl victories. In recent years, head coaches like Joe Judge, Ben McAdoo, and Brian Daboll have all coached the Giants.

Who is the greatest New York Giants coach of all time? Vote below for the best New York Giants coaches that you believe really made an impact on the franchise.

Most divisive: Steve Spagnuolo
Ranked by
  • Bill Parcells
    1

    Bill Parcells

    Englewood, New Jersey
    332 votes
    Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941), also known as "The Big Tuna", is an American former football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants, whom he led to two Super Bowl titles. Parcells later served as the head coach of the New England Patriots, New York Jets, and Dallas Cowboys. Throughout his career, he coached teams that were in a period of decline and turned them into postseason contenders. He is the only coach in NFL history to lead four teams to the playoffs and three teams to a conference championship game. When Parcells became the head coach of the Giants in 1983, he took over a franchise that had qualified for the postseason only once (1981) in the past decade and had only one winning record in their last 10 seasons. Parcells brought new success to the team and within four years, guided them to their first Super Bowl win. His tenure with the Giants spanned eight seasons and concluded with a second championship victory in Super Bowl XXV. After the Super Bowl win, Parcells retired as a coach in 1991. In 1993, Parcells came out of retirement to become the head coach of the Patriots, another struggling franchise at the time. Once again, Parcells changed the fortunes for the team and led them to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI during his fourth season as their coach, although the game ended in defeat for the Patriots. Amid conflicts with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, he left the franchise after their Super Bowl loss and became the head coach of the Jets for the next season. Under Parcells, the Jets went from having only one victory in the previous season to obtaining a winning record, and they reached the 1998 AFC Championship Game in his second year with the team. After three seasons as the Jets' head coach, Parcells retired for a second time in 1999, but came back to football in 2003 to become the head coach of the Cowboys. He coached the Cowboys for four seasons and helped them qualify for the playoffs twice, although the team was eliminated in the first round each time. Following the team's loss in a 2006 NFC Wild Card game, Parcells retired from coaching for good in 2007. Since his final retirement from coaching, Parcells currently serves as an NFL analyst for ESPN and since 2014, has been an unofficial consultant for the Cleveland Browns. He was also the Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins, a position he held from 2008 to 2010. In 2013, Parcells was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.His life story, "Parcells: A Football Life" was co-authored by Bill Parcells and writer Nunyo Demasio, a former Washington Post reporter. The collaboration was released by Penguin Random House in late 2014, and soon became a New York Times bestseller.
  • Tom Coughlin
    2

    Tom Coughlin

    Waterloo, New York
    351 votes
    Thomas Richard Coughlin (; born August 31, 1946) is the executive vice president of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach for the New York Giants for 12 seasons. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, both times against the New England Patriots. Coughlin was also the inaugural head coach of the Jaguars, serving from 1995 to 2002 and leading the team to two AFC Championship Games. Prior to his head coaching career in the NFL, he was head coach of the Boston College Eagles football team from 1991 to 1993, and served in a variety of coaching positions in the NFL as well as coaching and administrative positions in college football.
  • Allie Sherman
    3

    Allie Sherman

    New York City, New York
    108 votes
    Alex "Allie" Sherman (February 10, 1923 – January 3, 2015) was an American football player and coach who played 51 games in six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and defensive back, and afterward served as head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and of the New York Giants of the NFL. He later worked as a cable television and sports marketing executive and media personality.
  • Steve Owen
    4

    Steve Owen

    Cleo Springs, Oklahoma
    111 votes
    Stephen Joseph Owen (April 21, 1898 – May 17, 1964) was an American football player and coach. He earned a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as head coach of the National Football League's New York Giants from 1930 to 1953.Owen's skill at designing defenses, his fundamentals-centered approach to the game and his innovative "A formation," a variation on the single-wing, also helped his offenses thrive and were key to his success. His personal style was memorable for the odd congruence of gravelly voice and easy disposition to go with his perpetual tobacco chewing.
  • Jim Lee Howell
    5

    Jim Lee Howell

    Lonoke, Arkansas
    85 votes
    James Lee Howell (September 27, 1914 – January 4, 1995) was an American football player and coach for the National Football League's New York Giants. Howell was born in Arkansas and played college football and basketball at the University of Arkansas. He was drafted by the Giants in the 1937 NFL Draft and played wide receiver and defensive back from 1937 to 1947. While playing for the Giants, He was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives representing Lonoke County in 1940 and served one term during the January to March 1941 session of the legislature. After his playing career ended, he was head coach for Wagner College football. Howell returned to the Giants in 1954 as head coach, succeeding fan, media and player favorite Steve Owen. Howell quickly hired Vince Lombardi as his offensive coordinator and shortly after converted Tom Landry from player to defensive coordinator. From 1954 to 1960, the Giants played in three NFL Championship Games, defeating George Halas's Chicago Bears in 1956 by the score of 47–7. During Howell's seven seasons as head coach, he earned a career 53–27–4 record, with a .663 winning percentage. He drafted and coached a roster of stars including six future Pro Football Hall of Famers, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Rosey Brown, Emlen Tunnell, Frank Gifford and Don Maynard. Although his conservative, defense-oriented style was unpopular with the fans and media, the Giants' success on the field was more satisfying. Several other players from this era went on to become head coaches and broadcasters. Howell played and coached in an era when football went from a relatively simple game to one of great complexity with schemes, formations and playbooks designed to deceive as much as over power. With future Hall of Famers Lombardi and Landry as coordinators, Howell's job was frequently to play the diplomat within his own team. Howell stayed with the team as Director of Player Personnel until his retirement in 1981. He died on January 4, 1995 in Lonoke, Arkansas. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Howell to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2007
  • Jim Fassel
    6

    Jim Fassel

    Anaheim, California
    155 votes
    James Edward Fassel (born August 31, 1949) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1997 to 2003. He has served as offensive coordinator of other NFL teams, and as head coach, general manager, and president of the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.