The Detroit Lions NFL team is one of the most competitive teams in league history. They have made 19 playoff appearances and clinched several titles. From division titles to the conference championship and also the Super Bowl. They have a historic reign in the NFL, and a lot of credit goes to their players and coaching staff. Their coaches have brought the best out of every player on the team. Talking about coaches, who is their most successful coach in history? So let us look at the history of the Detroit Lions head coach and find out their most successful coach.
Detroit Lions Head Coach History
As of the 2023 season, 30 different coaches have coached the Lions. Here is the coaches’ complete list, stats, and records.
1. Hal Griffen (1930)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 5-6-3
- Regular season win percentage: 0.464
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
2. George Clark (1931-1936 and 1940)
- Season: 7
- Regular season record: 53-25-7
- Regular season win percentage: 0.623
- Playoff appearances: 2
- Playoffs record: 1-1
- Titles: 1x Division and 1x Super Bowl
3. Earl Clark (1937-1938)
- Season: 2
- Regular season record: 14-8
- Regular season win percentage: 0.636
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
4. Gus Henderson (1939)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 6-5
- Regular season win percentage: 0.545
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
5. Bill Edwards (1941-1942)
- Season: 2
- Regular season record: 4-9-1
- Regular season win percentage: 0.321
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
In case you missed:Â Los Angeles Rams Head Coach History: Know Their Most Successful Coach
6. John Karcis (1942)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 0-8
- Regular season win percentage: 0.0
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
7. Gus Dorais (1943-1947)
- Season: 5
- Regular season record: 20-31-2
- Regular season win percentage: 0.396
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
8. Bo McMillin (1948-1950)
- Season: 3
- Regular season record: 12-24
- Regular season win percentage: 0.333
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
9. Buddy Parker (1951-1956)
- Season: 6
- Regular season record: 47-23-2
- Regular season win percentage: 0.667
- Playoff appearances: 3
- Playoffs record: 3-1
- Titles: 3x Conference and 2x Super Bowl
10. George Wilson (1957-1964)
- Season: 8
- Regular season record: 53-45-6
- Regular season win percentage: 0.538
- Playoff appearances: 1
- Playoffs record: 2-0
- Titles: 1x Conference and 1x Super Bowl
Also read:Â Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach History: Know Their Most Successful Coach
11. Harry Gilmer (1965-1966)
- Season: 2
- Regular season record: 10-16-2
- Regular season win percentage: 0.393
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
12. Joe Schmidt (1967-1972)
- Season: 6
- Regular season record: 43-34-7
- Regular season win percentage: 0.554
- Playoff appearances: 1
- Playoffs record: 0-1
- Titles: nil
13. Don McCafferty (1973)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 6-7-1
- Regular season win percentage: 0.464
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
14. Rick Forzano (1974-1976)
- Season: 3
- Regular season record: 15-17
- Regular season win percentage: 0.469
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
15. Tommy Hudspeth (1976-1977)
- Season: 2
- Regular season record: 11-13
- Regular season win percentage: 0.458
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
Read more:Â New Orleans Saints Head Coach History: Know Their Most Successful Coach
16. Monte Clark (1978-1984)
- Season: 7
- Regular season record: 43-61-1
- Regular season win percentage: 0.414
- Playoff appearances: 2
- Playoffs record: 0-2
- Titles: 1x Division
17. Darryl Rogers (1985-1988)
- Season: 4
- Regular season record: 18-40
- Regular season win percentage: 0.310
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
18. Wayne Fontes (1988-1996)
- Season: 9
- Regular season record: 66-67
- Regular season win percentage: 0.496
- Playoff appearances: 4
- Playoffs record: 1-4
- Titles: 2x Division
19. Bobby Ross (1997-2000)
- Season: 4
- Regular season record: 27-30
- Regular season win percentage: 0.474
- Playoff appearances: 2
- Playoffs record: 0-2
- Titles: nil
20. Gary Moeller (2000)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 4-3
- Regular season win percentage: 0.571
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
In case you missed:Â San Francisco 49ers Head Coach History: Know Their Most Successful Coach
21. Marty Mornhinweg (2001-2002)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 5-27
- Regular season win percentage: 0.156
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
22. Steve Mariucci (2003-2005)
- Season: 3
- Regular season record: 15-28
- Regular season win percentage: 0.349
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
23. Dick Jauron (2005)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 1-4
- Regular season win percentage: 0.200
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
24. Rod Marinelli (2006-2008)
- Season: 3
- Regular season record: 10-38
- Regular season win percentage: 0.208
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
25. Jim Schwartz (2009-2013)
- Season: 5
- Regular season record: 29-51
- Regular season win percentage: 0.363
- Playoff appearances: 1
- Playoffs record: 0-1
- Titles: nil
Also read:Â Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach History: Know Their Most Successful Coach
26. Jim Caldwell (2014-2017)
- Season: 4
- Regular season record: 36-28
- Regular season win percentage: 0.563
- Playoff appearances: 2
- Playoffs record: 0-2
- Titles: nil
27. Matt Patricia (2018-2020)
- Season: 3
- Regular season record: 13-28-1
- Regular season win percentage: 0.321
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
28. Darrell Bevell (2020)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 1-4
- Regular season win percentage: 0.200
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
29. Robert Prince (2020)
- Season: 1
- Regular season record: 0-1
- Regular season win percentage: 0.0
- Playoff appearances: nil
- Playoffs record: nil
- Titles: nil
30. Dan Campbell (2021-present)
- Season: 3
- Regular season record: 24-26-1
- Regular season win percentage: 0.480
- Playoff appearances: 1
- Playoffs record: 2-1
- Titles: 1x Division
Read more:Â Green Bay Packers Head Coach History: Know Their Most Successful Coach
Most Successful Coach in Detroit Lions History
Buddy Parker is the most successful coach in the Lions’ history. Under Parker, the team reached the playoffs on three occasions.
He was on the team for six years (1951-1956) and had a record of 47-23-2. Regarding the postseason, he has a record of 3-1. Parker helped the Lions win three conference championships and two Super Bowls.
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