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List of NFL head coaches by playoff record

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List of NFL head coaches by playoff record
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The following table is a list of head coaches in the National Football League (NFL) listed by career playoff record and wins.

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Bill Belichick is the all-time leader in playoff wins with 31. He gained the top spot with New England's win over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Championship Game.

Champion coaches

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Since playoffs began in the 1933 NFL season, the following 59 coaches have led their team to an NFL, AFL, or AAFC title. On April 1, 2025 the NFL announced All-America Football Conference records and statistics will be recognized in its official records.[1] Super Bowls before the 1970 AFL–NFL merger are not included in total championship count.

† is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Bold denotes an
active coach
^ Won with 2 teams1921 champion coach
before playoff games began
1929, 1930, 1931 champion coach
before playoff games began
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Winning coaches

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Don Shula won 3 playoff games in his 1972 perfect season.
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Tom Landry won 20 playoff games with the Cowboys.
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Rex Ryan coached the Jets to 2 AFC Championship games.
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Mike Shanahan coached the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl wins in 1997 and 1998.
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John Harbaugh coached the Ravens to the playoffs in his first five seasons, with a Super Bowl win in the 2012 season.
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Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs led the Redskins to 3 championships.
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John Madden coached the Raiders to their first Super Bowl win.
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Potsy Clark coached the Lions to their first NFL crown in the 1935 season
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Bill Cowher was the second coach to lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl win.
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Greasy Neale coached the Eagles to their first two titles in 1948 and 1949.
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Lou Rymkus coached the first AFL champions, the 1960 Houston Oilers

Bill Belichick holds the current NFL record for most playoff wins by a head coach (31), and shares the record for most games coached with Andy Reid (44). Vince Lombardi won 90% of his playoff appearances, the record for coaches with more than three games to their credit.

While many coaches have won playoff games for 2 teams, only two have won a championship for different franchises. Weeb Ewbank won the 1958 and 1959 NFL titles with the Baltimore Colts, then won the 1968 AFL crown and Super Bowl with the New York Jets. The other coach to win a championship with two teams was Don Shula. Shula was an NFL champion in 1968 with the Baltimore Colts, but lost in Super Bowl III to the AFL champs coached by Weeb Ewbank. Coach Shula then led the Miami Dolphins to titles in 1972 and 1973. So far, Shula has coached the only no-loss, no-tie perfect season in NFL history (1972).

This table lists every coach who has won a playoff game in the NFL or AFL.
If a coach has led multiple teams to the playoffs, the teams are listed in the order of his playoff appearances.

Sort chart by clicking on heading. Reload page to return to original form.
Sorting 'Teams' in ascending order will list all champion coaches for each team first and in the order they won the title game for their team.

Bold denotes an active coach
Won a Super Bowl ^ or Championship
Won 2 or more Super Bowls ** or Championships


From 1960 to 1969, NFL and AFL Champs are listed.
From 1946 to 1949, NFL and AAFC Champs are listed
Super Bowls listed after the 1970 AFL–NFL merger.

Coach is in the Hall of Fame as a player or a coach

Updated through the conference championship games.

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List of coaches with no playoff victories

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This is a list of all those that have coached in playoff games that have no wins. All records can be verified at Pro Football Reference.com.[138]

Updated through the 2024–25 playoffs.

Bold denotes an active coach
Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
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Playoff appearances

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Below is a list of the most playoff appearances by an NFL or AAFC head coach (among those with 10 or more postseason appearances); those with the same number are listed based on when they first made the playoffs as a head coach. The most is Andy Reid, who holds the all-time record with 20 playoff appearances over 26 years of coaching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. In second place is Don Shula with 19 playoff appearances over 33 years of coaching both the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins, and Bill Belichick, who's currently tied with Shula with 19 playoff appearances with 29 years of coaching the Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots. The years listed are the years where the coaches listed below made the playoffs, not the entire span of the coach's career.

Championship appearances (Super Bowl starting in 1966) are also listed, with championship wins being in bold. Note the AAFC records are now recognized by the NFL as of April 2025, so those playoff seasons from the AAFC in Paul Brown's case are now included.

Key
^ Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
* Denotes head coach who is still active in the NFL
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See also

References

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