Study: NFL fans have more faith in head coaches that win
Over the years, a couple of NFL franchises appear to have constantly been in a state of flux. Whether it’s new head coaches, coordinators or even star players, nothing seems to really help these teams achieve consistent success.
While other fans are quick to point out that there are “losing” teams in the NFL, a recent study by Sports Betting Dime illustrates that there are some teams that are just accustomed to losing because of the revolving door policy when it comes to coaches.
Fans believe NFL coaches are to blame for losses
Fans who were surveyed by Sports Betting Dime in this most recent survey were asked their opinion on their favorite head coach, what they consider to be a successful season, and what qualities they themselves look for in their team's head coach.
More than half of the fans surveyed (55%) believed that their head coach was responsible for the team's success and record, which is a testament to the fact that fans are constantly asking for their NFL team's coach to be fired when the franchise is on a downward trajectory.
When asked how many season wins they felt were needed to have a successful season in the NFL, a majority of fans said 10 wins. This is interesting for a few reasons. For starters, in recent NFL seasons, there have been a couple of teams that didn't even have 10 wins but still made a run in the playoffs.
In 2020, the Washington Football Team won the NFC with a 7-9 record and the Chicago Bears clinched a playoff spot with a 8-8 record. On the AFC side of things, the Miami Dolphins had a 10-6 record and missed the playoffs.
When fans were asked what they felt were good qualities to have in a successful head coach, the most popular answers were: football IQ, innovation and player development.
Bill Belichick gets the vote
Which makes the next revelation even more sensible in the fact that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was chosen as the "Best Head Coach" in the NFL, with 67.5% of the vote.
Belichick has also brought six Super Bowl championships to New England in more than two decades as head coach of the Patriots.
It also seems that fans have the most confidence in coaches with the longest tenures. While coaches like Belichick and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin are two of the longest-serving coaches in the league, there are other teams that just don't have that experience at the helm.
Are relatively inexperienced head coaches holding teams back?
The Cleveland Browns, for instance, were also mentioned in the Sports Betting Dime survey. The 2020 season was a breakout season for the Browns as they broke their postseason drought and made a playoff run for the first time since 2002. Since 1990, the Browns have only had a 0.345 win percentage and an astounding 15 head coaches - the most any team has had in that time period.
Given the correlation between these stats, it's evident that NFL fans believe teams are more successful when they have longer tenured coaches.
The Sports Betting Dime survey did feature MLB, NBA and NHL fan opinions as well.