[sportscurmudgeon]

Eric Mangini and SEan Payton have "done it" for all of one season at the moment. Both of them may turn out to be Hall of Fame coaches sometime 20 years in the future; but as of now, they are as likely to be "one-hit wonders" as they are to be in the Top 5 coaches of their time.

Bill Belichick has to be on the list somewhere. If anyone proposes a list without him then every coach on that person's list would be suspect.

Tony Dungy has to be on the list of the Top 5 at this time. He's been highly successful in two places.

Andy Reid has to be on the list of the Top 5 at this time. He took over a team in 1999 that had the worst record in the NFL and has produced 4 years of NFC Championship games and 1 Super Bowl. Not bad.

I happen to think Jeff Fisher has gotten more done with the talent at his command and the circumstances of his stewardship than just about anyone else. Remember, Fisher's Oilers played to "home crowds" that did not support the team once it was a given that the team was headed elsewhere.

I can be talked into several folks for the 5th slot on this list. HOWEVER, Joe Gibbs is NOT one of them. Since his return - and this is about the Top 5 coaches NOW - Joe Gibbs has a losing record and a series of teams that bear no resemblence to the dedicated professionals that he had in the past.

I"d be tempted to put Marty Schottenheimer on this list - - except, he's not in the NFL at the moment due to some STRANGE thinking in San Diego.

I'd put MIke Shanahan here except that he has never won anything important in the playoffs since some guy named Elway retired - - and that was quite a while ago.

By default, I guess Mike Holmgren belongs as the fifth guy on the list...