Ranking the AFC North Coach-Quarterback Pairings

2 – Kenny Pickett and Mike Tomlin

 “But Noah, Kenny Pickett hasn’t played a snap in the NFL! We don’t know if he’s good or not!” Sure, those things are true. Do you know what else is true? Mike Tomlin is the best head coach in the AFC North, and the best in the NFL behind that guy in New England. He carries a lot of weight, which is necessary to bring this ranking up to #2, considering Pickett is a rookie.

I do think Pickett and Tomlin will be a great combination. It may seem ludicrous to rank Tomlin and Pickett this high regardless, but Tomlin is simply a much better coach than the two duos below him. I can trust Tomlin to keep his team at .500 no matter what happens to his team, I cannot do nearly the same with the other two coaches coming up.

3 – Deshaun Watson and Kevin Stefanski

Watson is most likely going to play at some point this season, as reports keep coming out with slimmer suspension weeks. When he plays, if he returns to form, Watson is in immediate contention for the best quarterback in the North, and in my opinion, could take it quite easily. He’s a great quarterback, off-field troubles aside.

However, the same cannot be said for Stefanski, and there is always one of those. No doubt, he was the coach Cleveland needed to get out of the slums. But what has he done other than stabilize the Browns? I don’t count the playoff win against the Steelers, first because he didn’t coach that game, and secondly because the Steelers did everything in their power to lose that game.

Stefanski is a better version of Zac Taylor, more proven, but he’s not flashy. His offense isn’t anything special, which is what he was hired for. He’s proved he couldn’t handle Baker Mayfield and made stupid decisions to keep him on the field, playing hurt for most of last year. I don’t trust Stefanski, and much as I like Watson’s on-the-field ability, I have to bring this duo in at #3.

 4 – Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor

Steelers fans know firsthand how good Joe Burrow is. Not just because he destroyed the Steelers both times they played, but also because Kenny Pickett comps very similarly to Burrow. Currently, Burrow is contending for the number one quarterback spot in the North. Unfortunately, his head coach lags far behind.



Frankly, ranking Zac Taylor is quite hard. It’s hard to tell if he’s driving the car, or just along for the ride. His team was garbage until Burrow arrived, and a dumpster fire when Burrow went down again. I get that losing your franchise quarterback (or not having one in the first place) is a tough challenge. But truly good head coaches can overcome such challenges, for a short time if nothing else. Look at Tomlin and Harbaugh. Taylor has not proved he can do that, or anything, without Burrow. Taylor drags Burrow down with him to #4 on this ranking.