The Best Washington Commanders Coaches of All Time

Ranker NFL
1.9K votes 479 voters
Over 400 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Washington Commanders Coaches of All Time
Voting Rules
Vote up the top Washington Football Team coaches.

There have been many Washington Commanders coaches since the team got its start, but who is truly the best Washington Commanders coach of all time? Help us answer that question by upvoting your personal favorite Washington Commanders coaches, and downvoting any that you believe brought the team down.
 
When you think of Washington Commanders coaches, you think Joe Gibbs. Under his leadership from 1981-1992, the Washington Commanders played in four Super Bowl games, winning 3 of them. This includes their first NFL Championship ever, which was won against the Miami Dolphins, a team that had previously defeated Washington. Outside of Gibbs, there have been no Washington Championships, with the team struggling to make a splash in the NFC.
 
Who is the greatest Washington Commanders coach of all time? Vote up your favorite head coaches below that you believe really made an impact on the franchise.

Most divisive: Mike Shanahan
Ranked by
  • Joe Gibbs
    1

    Joe Gibbs

    Mocksville, North Carolina
    190 votes
    Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is a retired American football coach, NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner, and former NHRA team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins (1981–1992, 2004–2007). Known for his work ethic, Gibbs constructed what Steve Sabol has called, "The most diverse dynasty in NFL history", building championship teams from players who had mediocre to average performance while playing for other NFL teams. During his first stint in the National Football League, he led the Redskins to eight playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl titles over 12 seasons. Gibbs is the only head coach to have won Super Bowls with three different starting quarterbacks. After retiring at the end of the 1992 season, he switched focus to NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing, which has won four NASCAR Cup Series championships under his ownership. On January 7, 2004, Gibbs came out of retirement to rejoin the Redskins as head coach and team president, signing a five-year, $28.5 million contract. On January 8, 2008, Gibbs announced his final retirement from coaching. He remained with the Redskins organization as "Special Advisor" to the team owner Daniel Snyder.
  • George Allen
    2

    George Allen

    Nelson County, Virginia
    104 votes
    George Herbert Allen (April 29, 1918 – December 31, 1990) was an American football coach in the National Football League and the United States Football League. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He is the father of the Republican politician George Allen who served as Governor and U.S. Senator from Virginia.
  • Ron Rivera
    3

    Ron Rivera

    Fort Ord, California
    9 votes
    Ronald Eugene "Ron" Rivera (born January 7, 1962) also known as "Riverboat Ron" is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He has also been the head coach for the Carolina Panthers, and the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers.Rivera played college football at the University of California in Berkeley, and was recognized as an All-American linebacker. He was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, and was a backup on the 1985 team which won Super Bowl XX. Rivera was recognized as the NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 2013 and in 2015. He led the Panthers to three divisional titles, and an appearance in Super Bowl 50.
  • Vince Lombardi
    4

    Vince Lombardi

    New York City, New York
    92 votes
    Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football player, coach, and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight and five total NFL Championships in seven years, in addition to winning the first two Super Bowls at the conclusion of the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons. Lombardi began his coaching career as an assistant and later as a head coach at St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, New Jersey. He was an assistant coach at Fordham, at the United States Military Academy, and with the New York Giants before becoming a head coach for the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to 1967 and the Washington Redskins in 1969. He never had a losing season as a head coach in the NFL, compiling a regular season winning percentage of 72.8% (96–34–6), and 90% (9–1) in the postseason for an overall record of 105 wins, 35 losses, and 6 ties in the NFL.Although Lombardi was noted for his gruff demeanor and "iron discipline", he was far ahead of his time in creating a supportive environment for gay players, and he emphatically challenged existing Jim Crow Laws, and provided leadership to break the color barrier in football. He once said that he "... viewed his players as neither black nor white, but Packer green". Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized as one of the greatest coaches and leaders in the history of all American sports. The year after his sudden death from cancer in 1970, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the NFL Super Bowl trophy was named in his honor.
  • Marty Schottenheimer
    5

    Marty Schottenheimer

    McDonald, Pennsylvania
    82 votes
    Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; born September 23, 1943) is a former professional American football player and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs for 10 seasons, the Cleveland Browns for five seasons, the San Diego Chargers for five seasons, and the Washington Redskins for one season. Eighth in all-time wins at 205 and fifth in regular season wins at 200, Schottenheimer has the most wins of a head coach to not reach an NFL championship. After coaching in the NFL, he won a 2011 championship in his one season with the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League (UFL). Schottenheimer's tenure as an NFL head coach was marked by consistent regular season success and postseason struggles. During the course of over two decades, he went 14 seasons before posting a losing record and had only two seasons with more losses than wins. However, Schottenheimer won only five of 18 postseason games he appeared in and never advanced beyond the conference championship round of the playoffs. Schottenheimer's Browns were twice denied a Super Bowl berth by the Denver Broncos through game events that later became famous in NFL Lore: John Elway leading the Broncos on a 98 yard, game-tying drive in the 1986 AFC Championship and Earnest Byner fumbling the ball on the Broncos' goal line with a minute remaining in the 1987 AFC Championship. Both events are now cited as part of the Cleveland sports curse. At the conclusion of his NFL career, Schottenheimer held a playoff winning percentage of .278, a stark contrast to his .613 regular season winning percentage. He is the only eligible NFL coach with at least 200 regular season wins who has not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  • Jack Pardee
    6

    Jack Pardee

    Exira, Iowa
    57 votes
    John Perry Pardee (April 19, 1936 – April 1, 2013) was an American football linebacker and the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the National Football League (NFL), the United States Football League (USFL), the World Football League (WFL), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Pardee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.