Super Bowl LIX: Nick Sirianni and Losing Super Bowl Coaches

• In Super Bowl LIX, a Kansas City Chiefs attempted threepeat is the focus
• The Philadelphia Eagles are playing in the Big Game for the second time in three years
• Philly head coach Nick Sirianni has the chance at history
• Many great coaches have never won a Super Bowl

Who remembers Super Bowl-losing coaches? As Super Bowl LIX approaches, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is already a legend. He will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame the year after he retires. However, there is another coach in the game. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni is building an impressive resume of his own.

The Eagles are in the Big Game again two years after they lost to the Chiefs, 38-35 in a seesaw battle that went down to the final seconds. Losing a Super Bowl — or not even making it to one — does not mean a coach can’t coach just like winning one does not provide validation. With that in mind, let’s look at the 5 best coaches in NFL history who lost a Super Bowl or never even made it.

Kansas City is a 1-point favorite to win the Super Bowl and complete the threepeat. Looking at it from another perspective, Philadelphia is a pick ’em to prevent it.

Marv Levy – Chiefs, Bills

Levy is in the Hall of Fame with a 143-112 record. He has the honor/ignominy of winning four straight AFC titles with the Bills and losing all four Super Bowls. The 1982 strike sabotaged his prior head coaching stop in Kansas City.

The Bills rose under Levy as he nurtured their young talent including quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, and defensive end Bruce Smith. The Super Bowl losses haunt him and prevent him from being mentioned among the greats.

Dan Reeves – Broncos, Giants, Falcons

Reeves was the coach on the other sideline for the Broncos in the John Elway “The Drive” game. He made it to four Super Bowls and lost them all in blowout fashion. In fairness, the three Broncos Super Bowl losses were not his fault since they were simply overmatched.

He amassed a 190-165-2 record in 23 years as a head coach and brought Denver and Atlanta to the Big Game. His Falcons team was reeling from team leader and NFL Man of the Year for his good works, Eugene Robinson, getting arrested for solicitation the night before the game. Ironically, they lost to Reeves’ former team, his former offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, and his then-nemesis quarterback, Elway.

Marty Schottenheimer – Browns, Chiefs, Redskins, Chargers

Schottenheimer accumulated a 200-126-1 record in 21 years as a head coach but never made the Super Bowl. His best chance was in his third season when his Browns went 12-4 and advanced to the AFC Championship Game against Reeves, Elway, and the Broncos. Elway executed “The Drive” and marched Denver 98 yards for a tying touchdown in the waning minutes of regulation.

His coaching style was too conservative, his favored teams suffered too many upsets in the playoffs, and in his final 11 seasons as a head coach, he never won a playoff game.

Bud Grant – Vikings

Grant had a well-rounded career as a player and coach. He not only played in the NFL for two seasons with the Eagles, but he also played in the NBA for the Minneapolis Lakers.

He’s in the Hall of Fame for his 18 years coaching the Vikings, accumulating a 158-96-5 record and four Super Bowl appearances in eight years. They lost them all. Still, he kept the team competitive even after his stars Fran Tarkenton, Jim Marshall, Alan Page, and Carl Eller aged out, retired, or departed.

George Allen – Rams, Redskins

Allen was quite the character. On the field, he amassed a 116-47-5 record with the Rams and Redskins, including losing Super Bowl VII to the undefeated Dolphins. Allen was Vince Lombardi’s replacement in Washington after Lombardi died.

He was extraordinarily intense and relied heavily on his veterans. He also had a penchant for clashing with team owners. Then Washington-owner Edward Bennett Williams said he gave Allen an unlimited budget and the coach exceeded it. After leaving Washington, he went back to the Rams but the players rebelled against his overbearing ways and he was fired in training camp.

Sirianni Does Not Want Membership in This Club

For all the criticism that is lobbed at Sirianni and his near-firing after a disastrous 2023-24 late-season collapse, he has done something few coaches have by reaching two Super Bowls. He is a good coach, though occasionally immature and too eager to fight.

He needs to win this game because as the above list proves, there’s no guarantee he’ll get back, let alone win. Beating Reid and stopping the Chiefs’ threepeat would make history simultaneously avoiding membership in the best Super Bowl-losing coaches.