After more than a hundred NFL players voted Mike Smith of the Atlanta Falcons and Gary Kubiak of the Houston Texans as the league's most underrated coaches, it triggered a natural question: Who's the most overrated?
The same 103 players from 27 teams that showered praise on Smith and Kubiak were less kind to the man from Florham Park.
New York Jets coach Rex Ryan towered above his peers in a recent Sporting News poll, netting 35 votes as the league's most overrated coach.
More suprising was the No. 2 hole, filled by New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick with 16 votes. Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid ws third with nine.
Ryan is an easy target. His Jets are disappointing this season, but injuries to Darrelle Revis and Santonio Holmes stacked the deck. Ryan had the team playing hard in tight losses to the Houston Texans and New England Patriots. Their disappearing act against the Miami Dolphins was disturbing, but shredding Ryan for this year's troubles ignores what he's done for the franchise. Ryan has made the long-ignored Jets relevant again.
The Belichick votes are curious. Say what you will about his methods, but the Patriots have been hyper-competitive for a decade-plus. What Belichick has done with the Patriots' offense in recent years shows he's as flexible and innovative as any coach in the game. His reputation as a defensive mastermind has taken a hit, but come on, it's Belichick. What's he doing on this list?
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
