THE Coach John Madden (Photo courtesy of KTVO/File).
It’s a partially true scientific fact that if you’re named Bill, John, or George, you are more likely to become an NFL head coach than any other name.
Is this because Bill, John, and George are common white man names? Considering that the NFL head coach has and remains a predominantly white male position. Who knows? Maybe we’ll have more of an idea by the end of this article. We’ll find out together.
The Popularity Of A Name
The US Government Social Security Office has records from 1923–2022 on the 100 most popular baby names for both genders. This range almost covers the entire time the NFL has existed.
Bill is most commonly the shortening of the name William, so we will use the long version when considering the popularity of the name.
John is the third most common name on the list over the 100-year span. There have been 4,354,502 baby boys named John.
Bill (William) is the sixth most common name on the list, with 3,484,904 individuals named this.
The lowest on the list is George. Only 1,085,858 men were named George at birth, making it the 24th most popular name in America between 1923 and 2022.
The popularity of all three names does contribute to the high number of NFL head coaches with the same name. However, you don’t see a lot of James’, Robert’s, Michael’s, and David’s in the league in the NFL head coach role, and they were in the top five most popular names on the list.
So that doesn’t clear up much…
The Winningest NFL Head Coaches
A coach’s ability to win is not the only gauge for determining who the best head coaches are, but we’ll use it as one of our less subjective metrics.
The top 50 winningest head coaches are determined by the Pro Football Network’s list.
My highly scientific hypothesis didn’t weather this test well.
There are 4 Bills, 2 Georges, and 4 Johns (including Jon Gruden). 5 Michaels and 3 Toms call my names into question. Chuck and Don were as common as George.
Every other name only appeared on the list once. With gems like Lovie, Curly, Weeb, Bud, and Marv, it’s not exactly surprising that two parents didn’t choose the same name or nickname.
The ‘Losingest’ Coaches
There is no established list of the 50 coaches with the most losses in NFL history. It’s not completely surprising considering how often franchises folded and moved in the early years of the NFL. The Bleacher Report provided a more subjective list of the 50 worst NFL head coaches ever. We’ll use it to find Bill, George, and John.
Per the list, you are more likely to be a bad head coach if your name is: Richard (4), Mike (3), Jim (3), David (3), Rod (3), Steve (2), Ray (2), and Frank (2). Only one Bill was on the list, and there were no Georges or Johns.
Again, with names like Chan (as a first name), Norv, and Lindy, it’s not a total surprise there weren’t multiple.
The Most “Popular” NFL Head Coaches
If we go decade by decade and compare the 50 most popular NFL head coaches, we find some interesting results.
The Early 20th Century:
1920s: Three Johns, start the NFL out. The most common names were Jim (3), Al (2), Pete (2), and Jack (2). Some interesting one-offs were: Punk, Untz (as a first name), Dewey, Cap, Babe, Tut, Brick, and Elgie.
The 1930s: 3 Georges are in this time range. The other most common names were Jack (3), Hal (2), and Ed (2). Some one-offs include: Potsy, Lud, Chile, Luby, and Algy.
1940s: The 1940s have two Johns. The most common names were: Jim (5), Walt (2), Red (2), and Dutch (2). Some unique parents named their kids Hamp, Mal, Clem, Greasy, Hunk, Clipper, and Dudley.
The 1950s: 2 Georges in the 1950s. Other common names were: Jim (3), Joe (3), Bo (2), Ray (2), Richard (2), and Red (2). Some names celebrities will use in the future are: Lisle and Pop.
The Latter 20th Century
1960s: 2 Bills, 3 Georges, and 2 Johns. Other common ones were: Joe (3), Bud (2), Lou (2), Jim (2), and Jack (2). Unique kids (or parents): Blankton, Buster, Bulldog, and Clive.
The 1970s: There are 3 Johns total. The most common names were: Tom (4), Chuck (3), Charles (2), Don (2), Richard (2), Paul (2), and Jack (2). And, just in case you thought names would get more normal by the 1970s, just imagine the NFL head coach, Bum.
1980s: We have 2 Bills, 2 Georges, and 5 Johns. Other common names were: Jim (3), Bud (2), Sam (2), Jerry (2), Don (2), Ray (2), Ron (2), Joe (2), Tom (2), and Chuck (2). Rollie and Pepper are our resident one-offs from the 1980s.
The 1990s: Three Bills are holding down the fort. Outside the fort, we have: Mike (4), Jim (3), Bud (3), Jerry (2), Chuck (2), and Dennis (2). June and Gunther remind us that the 1990s still had unique names.
The 21st Century
2000s: The 2000s are trying to prove my hypothesis. We have 4 Bills and 3 Johns. However, the dominating names are Mike (9), Jim (5), Richard (2), and Tony (2). Rex, Herm, and Butch are unique names, but Tony Sparano is the best name on this entire list, hands down.
The 2010s: There are two Bills and Johns in the 2010s. Mike is still in the clear lead in the 21st century, with nine in the 2010s. Jim comes next at 3, and we have several names at 2. Including Todd, Matt, Tom, Sean, and Doug. Chip and Dirk are keeping our unique name trend going.
2020s: This century isn’t over yet, so there’s room for more Bill, George, and Johns. We only have two Johns. There’s probably too much room for Matts (4), Mikes (4), Seans (2), and Dougs (2). In 50 years, people may raise their eyebrows at names like Vic, Kliff, and Urban.
Decade Conclusions:
I only counted names that came up twice for all my non-Georges, Bills, and Johns, or else there would be hundreds of names over the decades. To keep it consistent, I cut out our three names in the total count if they only came up once a decade.
The top four names that came up as the most popular NFL head coach names are Jim, Mike, John, and Bill. Jim comes up 27 times, Mike 26 times, John 22 times, and Bill 13 times. Interestingly, the names Jim, John, and Bill are spread out fairly evenly between the 1920s and the 2020s. Mike popped up in 1990 and has remained the most popular name since.
Was I Right About NFL Head Coaches?
Partially, yes. Based on the data by decade.
I was wrong that Jim (James) and Mike (Michael) are not prominent NFL head coaches. They’re in the top 5 names in the US over the last 100 years, and the 4 top coaches names.
It is of note that both Bill and John are in the top six names in the US and the top four coach names. They’re #3 and #4 in the NFL setting, but they’re still there. I was wrong about George.
However, being named Bill and John is in your favor if you want to pursue a career as an NFL head coach. And based on our winningest and losingest information, you’re more likely to be a good NFL head coach too.
You’re more likely to be a bad coach if you are named Jim; if your name is Mike, you’re more likely to be a head coach than Bill, John, and George, but you’re also likely to be worse than all three too. There’s a wide range of levels of success for Mike.
What’s the takeaway? If you’re Jim, you’ll be an NFL head coach, but not necessarily a good one. If you’re Mike, you have a shoe in, but how your career goes is iffy at best. George, you won’t fail, but that’s because you probably won’t become a head coach anyway.
Frankly, the odds are in your favor to succeed, and you will be prominently displayed in the league if your name is Bill or John. You’re welcome, everyone.
Read more of my articles, where I may be right or wrong, here.
