The NFC South hasn't been anything special in recent years with the clearest example of that being two years ago when the winner, our very own Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won the division despite notching a losing record.
The head coaches at the helm in the NFC South consist of Dennis Allen, Todd Bowles, Dave Canales, and Raheem Morris, with the latter two names joining the division's head coaching ranks this offseason. Bowles took over for the Bucs in 2022 and Allen became the Saints head coach in 2022 as well.
With the preseason oh so close, let's rank the coaches in the NFC South.
Power ranking NFC South head coach heading into 2024 preseason
4. Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers
Bucs fans are familiar with Canales considering he spent the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator and helped Baker Mayfield put together a stellar comeback season after three teams had previously given up on him. Canales' efforts led to the Carolina Panthers hiring him as their head coach and he'll have his work cut out for him in Carolina.
The Panthers are clearly hoping that Canales can work whatever magic he had with Mayfield on Bryce Young, who the Panthers took first overall a season ago. Maybe Canales turns out to be a great hire for the Panthers but until we know more about him as a head coach, he has to be in the bottom spot because of the unknown.
3. Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
It was a sigh of relief when Sean Payton finally left the division and the New Orleans Saints had to find someone else to lead them. They promoted their long-time defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and it's been an experiment so far, to say the least.
Allen had served as the Raiders head coach from 2012 to 2014 and did not do well there but the Saints decided to give him another chance. The Saints went 7-10 during Allen's first year on the job but they finished the 2023 season with a 9-8 record, the same as the Bucs. Fortunately, Tampa had the tiebreaker and got the division title over New Orleans.
Since Allen took over, the Saints aren't a scary team anymore. They're no longer a threat in the division and it's paved the way for the Bucs to sit atop the table. This is why he's second-to-last in these rankings.
2. Raheem Morris, Atlanta Falcons
Bucs fans are also familiar with Raheem Morris, as he spent the 2009 to 2011 seasons as the head coach of the squad. Morris was hired by the Falcons this offseason to take over as their head coach and he had previously served in an interim role there during the 2020 season.
Morris had one decent year while leading the Buccaneers, as they finished the 2010 season with a 10-6 record and narrowly missed out on the postseason. He's shown that he can put together at least one successful season and he'll have a talented Falcons roster to work with in Atlanta. While some might argue that he should be in the three-spot due to not having been a head coach in over a decade, he's shown he can lead a team if the roster is competitive.
That's why he gets the second place nod here.
1. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You know the NFC South isn't flowing with head coaching talent when Todd Bowles is number one on the list but, to his credit, he deserves this top spot. Bowles was promoted from the defensive coordinator position to head coach following the 2021 season and the Bucs went 8-9 during his first year on the job.
Fortunately for Bowles and the Buccaneers, the rest of the NFC South was complete crap that year and they won the division with a losing record. Tampa Bay bounced back in 2023, going 9-8, winning their third straight division title, and doing so with a quarterback that people had written off.
In most divisions, Todd Bowles is not the number one coach but that's the NFC South for ya, folks. He's number one here.