# Colin Cowherd: Cowherd argued Sean McVay would be the number-one choice for any NFL owner or athletic director if every coach were available, and that McVay's separation from the rest of the league's coaches is greater than Josh Allen's over other quarterbacks.

**Claimed:** Jul 15, 2026
**Pundit:** Colin Cowherd — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/colin-cowherd
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd/the-herd-hour-3-argentina-s-easy-world-cup-path-top-5-nfl-head-coaches

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> McVeagh would be the number one choice.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **If it was a blank check for every NFL owner and every athletic director that knew what he was doing, McVeagh would be the number one choice... Sean McVay would be number one, Sean Payton would be way up there**
  - Kind: Head Coach Rankings
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## More head coach rankings

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Jesse Holley: Jesse picked the 49ers to beat Seattle (expecting Sam Darnold to revert to form), the Texans over New England, and the Rams over the Bears. He also called Oregon's tight end a first-round player and ranked the Giants' new head coach as the best in the NFC East ahead of Quinn and Schottenheimer. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ac1244ea-9b1b-4b60-b3e6-f7beb62adf4c (scored 25)
- Gregg Rosenthal: In a snake-draft-style ranking of the NFL's returning head coaches, Rosenthal made the even-numbered selections, taking Sean McVay second overall, Kevin O'Connell fourth, John Harbaugh sixth and on down to Raheem Morris at 26. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f1dd8036-757c-4f3e-9089-2429df99c92a (scored 62.2)
- JP Acosta: Acosta made the odd-numbered picks in the head-coach draft, naming Andy Reid the best coach in the NFL, Dan Campbell third, Kyle Shanahan fifth, and continuing down to Brian Daboll at 25. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c84ddac3-964c-40fe-a238-31130b5f9e4f (scored 51.92)
- Ollie Connolly: Connolly ranked his Coach of the Year top five with Kyle Shanahan first, Mike Vrabel second, Mike McDonald third, Liam Cohen fourth and Ben Johnson fifth, naming Shanahan his winner. He also predicted the Broncos would blow out the Chiefs on Christmas night. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c07e055c-4ff1-47bf-9062-548b240402ae (scored 75)
- John Middlekauff: In a mid-July podcast, Middlecoff reacted to the Garrett Wilson extension and Jauan Jennings' contract unhappiness, predicting Jennings is San Francisco's clear No. 1 receiver and will top 80 catches; he also expects the Browns to keep Quinshon Judkins on the roster, ranks Mahomes as the top quarterback, calls Dak a top-12 QB, backs Bo Nix as a top-15 starter, says the Bears should win 10 games but must be ranked behind Denver, and would take Dan Campbell over Nick Sirianni. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/32b8564c-773f-4dcf-94bf-654d342ddcec (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan: Sullivan ranks the seven NFL head coaches whose seats are hottest after Week 2 of the 2026 season, with Todd Bowles at No. 1 and Matt LaFleur at No. 7. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/dd5ee657-c1a1-4e3b-8acc-08c30e897a27 (not settled)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

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