The Indianapolis Colts hired Shane Steichen last offseason and he showed that he was the right hire, leading the team to a 9-8 record. The Colts weren't the only team in the AFC South to hire a new head coach in 2023 with the Houston Texans hiring DeMeco Ryans. He helped lead the Texans to a 10-7 record, division title, and playoff win in his first year.
Also in the AFC South at the head coach position are Doug Pederson of the Jacksonville Jaguars and newcomer Brian Callahan of the Tennessee Titans. Pederson joined the Jags in 2022, turned them around right away, and then led them to another winning season in Year 2. Callahan has yet to coach a game as an NFL head coach so we're unsure of what he can do yet.
Let's rank the AFC South head coaches from worst to first.
4. Brian Callahan
The Titans moved on from Mike Vrabel this offseason and hired Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to take the keys to the car. It's Callahan's first head coaching job in the NFL and the Titans are hoping that the former Bengals offensive coordinator can help Will Levis the same way he helped Joe Burrow during his time in Cincinnati.
With Callahan having no head coaching experience, he's the easy pick to have in the last place spot on this list.
3. Shane Steichen
Shane Steichen earns the three-spot despite his impressive first year on the job in Indy. Steichen was hired by the Colts last offseason after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles and doing amazing things with Jalen Hurts during a year that saw the Eagles reach the Super Bowl.
Despite losing Anthony Richardson early in the season, Steichen was able to help lead his team to a 9-8 record and come up just shy of making the playoffs. This ranking is more because the two names on top of the list truly are better than Steichen (even by the narrowest of margins) and not that Steichen is the second-worst coach in the division.
Let's hope he can move up in Year 2.
2. DeMeco Ryans
Nobody expected the Texans to turn things around so quickly in Year 1 of the DeMeco Ryans experiment but that's exactly what happened. Ryans, along with rookies C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson, and Tank Dell were able to help lead the Texans to a stunning 10-7 record, which was enough to win the AFC South.
From there, Ryans helped lead Houston to a playoff win over the Browns. While the Texans fell to the Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round, they hung tough in the first half of that game and proved they're going to be a fierce contender in the division moving forward.
Both Ryans and Steichen were first-year head coaches in 2023 and both showed their teams why hiring them was the right call. Ryans edges out Steichen here due to the better record, winning the division, and making the playoffs. We'll see if he stays in this spot after Year 2 or if the sophomore slump will hit him.
1. Doug Pederson
The most experienced coach in the AFC South is Doug Pederson, who is entering his third year with the Jaguars. Before coaching the Jags, Pederson was the head coach of the Eagles for five years and led them to a Super Bowl title in just his second year in Philadelphia.
After Pederson was fired following the 2020 season, the Jaguars swooped in and hired Pederson to lead Trevor Lawrence and the rest of their young team. Pederson immediately turned Jacksonville into winners, leading them to a 9-8 record in 2022. That record was good enough to win them a division title when they came back by double-digits to beat the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs.
Pederson and the Jags went 9-8 again in 2023 but the competition was stiffer this time and it wasn't good enough to get them a postseason berth. Even with the disappointing result of missing the playoffs in 2023, Pederson has a Super Bowl win under his belt so he's the no-brainer pick to be at the top of this list.