The NFL Players Association has surveyed its membership to ask players how they rate their coordinators, and at the top of the list are Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel.
The union commissioned a research firm to survey players this season and got responses from 864 offensive players rating their offensive coordinator, 774 defensive players rating their defensive coordinator and 1,025 special teams players rating their special teams coordinator.
Smith, who is in his second season in Miami, came out on top among the offensive coordinators. He was followed by Carolina’s Thomas Brown, Dallas’s Brian Schottenheimer, Cincinnati’s Brian Callahan and the Chargers’ Kellen Moore.
Glenn, who is in his third season in Detroit, was the top choice among defensive coordinators. He was followed by San Francisco’s Steve Wilks, Dallas’s Dan Quinn, Minnesota’s Brian Flores and the Rams’ Raheem Morris.
Fassel, who is in his fourth season in Dallas, was the top choice among special teams coordinators. He was followed by Carolina’s Chris Tabor, who has since been promoted to the team’s interim head coach, Minnesota’s Matt Daniels, Detroit’s Dave Fipp and New Orleans’ Darren Rizzi.
Many of those coordinators will be interviewed for head-coaching vacancies in the weeks ahead, and the NFLPA survey serves as something of a seal of approval from the players, that they’re buying into how they’re being coached.
