Here are the five winningest head coaches in Detroit Lions history.
The Detroit Lions have a long history of mediocrity or worse, with no championships since 1957 and no playoff wins since the 1991 season. Since 1999, they have made the playoffs three times (2011, 2014, 2016).
It’s not easy to come up with a lot of the names of former Lions head coaches for people who aren’t hardcore or long-suffering fans, let alone cite their success or lack thereof going back beyond the last 30 years or so.
But here we are, ready to tell you who the five winningest head coaches in Lions’ history are. And by “winningest”, we mean most wins (including playoffs as a tiebreaker if needed)–not winning percentage, unless a tiebreaker is needed there. No. 1 is probably obvious, but without Google good luck easily knowing who the others are if you’re not a long-suffering Lions’ fan. Or, I suppose, a coaching history savant.
Current head coach Dan Campbell could stick around and climb this list in time, but here are the winningest head coaches in Detroit Lions history.
The 5 winningest head coaches in Detroit Lions history
Credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
5
Joe Schmidt
43-34-7 over six seasons (1967-1972), 0-1 in playoffs
The Lions won at least seven games in four of Schmidt’s six seasons as head coach (the last four, as it were), with the peak a 10-4 record and Divisional Round playoff loss in 1970.
Schmidt was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1973. He spent all 13 seasons of his NFL career as a linebacker for the Lions (1953-1965), earning 10 Pro Bowl selections and eight First Team All-Pro nods. After a year as linebackers coach in 1966, he became the Lions’ head coach in 1967.
An above-.500 record is a feat in and of itself for a Lions’ head coach. Schmidt followed a stellar playing career in Detroit by getting that done.
Monte Clark (1978-1984, 43-61-1 record) also had 43 wins during his tenure as Lions’ head coach. In this case, winning percentage was the tiebreaker to make Schmidt No. 5.