Ranking the best coaches in New York sports right now

We rank each head coach from the four major sports in New York right now. The first and last names on this list won’t surprise anyone.

9. Adam Gase — New York Jets

This is the easiest choice on this list. It’s a no-brainer to put Adam Gase as the worst coach in New York right now. He came to New York with a purported reputation as an offensive genius and yet, the Jets are the worst offense in the NFL by far.

Gase has more double-digit losses than wins on his resumé with Gang Green. That’s 11 blowout losses against just seven total wins during his tenure in New York. The good news for New York Jets fans is that he won’t be on this list for very long.

8. Joe Judge — New York Giants

There’s a solid chance that Joe Judge climbs this list as time goes on, but it’s hard to put him any higher than this when he still doesn’t have a win as an NFL head coach. To be fair, the mess that is the New York Giants has more to do with general manager Dave Gettleman than it does Judge, but we couldn’t put him any higher than this.

7. Luis Rojas — New York Mets

Luis Rojas wasn’t great in his first year with the New York Mets. It would even be a stretch to call him “good” in his role. But he was dealt a crappy hand in the first place. He was thrust into the role after the Carlos Beltran debacle and a combination of injuries and opt-outs put him in a tough spot.

He was 26-34 in his first year as a manager which certainly isn’t great, but let’s give him another year before we crucify him.

6. Lindy Ruff — New Jersey Devils

Lindy Ruff feels like a retread hire for the New Jersey Devils. Don’t get me wrong, he’s had a ton of success as a head coach throughout his career, but it’s hard to get excited about him taking over in New Jersey. In his recent tries as a head coach, Ruff’s teams have underwhelmed and underachieved.

As an assistant for the Rangers, Ruff was in charge of the power play and the defense. The Rangers were top-10 on the power play, but the defense was the worst unit on the team. And it wasn’t for a lack of talent either.

5. Steve Nash — Brooklyn Nets

Steve Nash is smack dab in the middle of this list because he’s the biggest unknown in the coaching ranks. His hire by the Brooklyn Nets was a complete shock given the fact that he has very little coaching experience on his resumé.

Nash was a Hall of Fame player who was always thinking two steps ahead of his opponent. Perhaps that translates to the bench. Maybe it doesn’t. We’re playing the waiting game on Steve Nash, which is why he falls directly in the middle of this list.

4. David Quinn — New York Rangers

It’s impossible to hate on what David Quinn is doing with the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts have been fortunate to have some lottery lock in recent years to accelerate the rebuild, but we can’t overlook what Quinn is doing from the bench.

Although they were swept in the Qualifying Round, no one expected the Rangers to make a run at the playoffs this season. Quinn has his team ahead of schedule and he deserves a ton of credit for that.

3. Tom Thibodeau — New York Knicks

Tom Thibodeau has yet to coach a single game for the New York Knicks, but he deserves his spot near the top of this list. Thibodeau was one of the NBA’s top assistants for years, helping the 1999 Knicks go on a run to the NBA Finals and engineering the defense that led to the 2008 Boston Celtics winning a title.

In his first year as a head coach, he won NBA Coach of the Year and led the Chicago Bulls to a 62-20 record and the Eastern Conference Finals. Although a championship has eluded him, he’s taken his teams to the playoffs in six of his nine years as a head coach.

2. Aaron Boone — New York Yankees

The New York Yankees disappointed in 2020, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that Aaron Boone has been tremendous in his first three years as manager. Although a World Series title is still the ultimate litmus test for Boone, he’s off to a great start in his managerial career.

But don’t take my word for it, look at the numbers. Boone has the best win percentage of any MLB manager in history per Baseball-Reference. Obviously, it’s a small sample size compared to other managers, but it’s notable nonetheless.

1. Barry Trotz — New York Islanders

This was almost as easy as putting Gase last. Barry Trotz has broken the curse for the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his first two years on the bench. Most recently, he took the Isles to the Eastern Conference Finals and had them within two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Trotz is the only coach on this list with a championship as a head coach. Three years ago he helped the Washington Capitals finally get over the hump and win the Stanley Cup. Trotz consistently gets more than you expect out of his teams and he’s the obvious choice as the top coach in New York right now.