Invincible NFL Coaches

In the NFL world coaches come and go at a staggering rate. Owners and fans demand wins from their teams and have little patience for rebuilding or down years. If a guys doesnt turn things around in 1-3 years he is usually out the door. However in this turbulent world of NFL coaches two men have proved to be almost invincible. They are Norv Tuner and Marvin Lewis current head coaches of the Chargers and Bengals. 

In 2006 then head coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired by the Chargers after his team went 14-2 but failed to advance in the playoffs. His firing was the result of the Charger's continued inability to win in the playoffs. They had done well in the regular season under his watch, but the ownership saw their consistent playoff failures as a sign that a change was needed. So, Norv Turner was brought in by the Chargers to change the pattern of playoff failure and win the team a championship. During his time with the team Turner has gone a respectable 53-37 over 6 seasons. He did make the playoffs his first three seasons (although once as an 8-8 team), but hasnt been back since then. He still hasnt won the big one and his teams are always being talked about as under performers.  Despite this the front office that felt it necessary to fire a coach that went 14-2, still hasnt given Turner the boot. Somehow Norv Tuner has appeared to find a suit of invincibility and avoid the NFL head coach chopping block.

Marvin Lewis' ability to stay employed is even more impressive then Turner's. Lewis has been the head coach since 2003 and has gone 74-79, that is right he has a losing record. Additionally he only has three playoff appearances and no wins. Yet he still has a job. This is almost unheard of for an NFL coach. In comparison Pete Carroll went 27-21, went to the playoffs twice and won a game in three seasons as the head coach of the Patriots and he got the axe. NFL owners have generally have high standards for their lead men. The Bengals appear to judge their coach's quality using a metric other then wins and losses.

Both Turner and Lewis appear to have found a way to avoid the chopping block year after year. We may never know what secret power they possess that allows them to do this, but one thing is clear they arent being judged solely on wins and losses.