For years, Peyton Manning kept ruining Gary Kubiak’s life. From 2006 to 2010, both men were in the AFC South, and Kubiak never managed more than 9 wins or a division title. He finished his time in Houston with a 61-64 record, before joining the Broncos in 2015. That makes Kubiak just the 7th head coach who had a losing career record prior to the season in which his team won the Super Bowl.
The coach with the worst career record before winning it all? That would be Bill Walsh, who held an 8-24 record entering the 1981 season.
| Coach | Year | Team | SB # | G | W | L | T | Gm ov .500 | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Walsh | 1981 | sfo | 1 | 32 | 8 | 24 | 0 | -16 | 0.25 |
| Bill Belichick | 2001 | nwe | 1 | 96 | 41 | 55 | 0 | -14 | 0.427 |
| Jimmy Johnson | 1992 | dal | 1 | 48 | 19 | 29 | 0 | -10 | 0.395 |
| Dick Vermeil | 1999 | ram | 1 | 133 | 63 | 70 | 0 | -7 | 0.473 |
| Bill Belichick | 2003 | nwe | 2 | 128 | 61 | 67 | 0 | -6 | 0.476 |
| Bill Walsh | 1984 | sfo | 2 | 73 | 34 | 39 | 0 | -5 | 0.465 |
| Chuck Noll | 1974 | pit | 1 | 70 | 33 | 37 | 0 | -4 | 0.471 |
| Gary Kubiak | 2015 | den | 1 | 125 | 61 | 64 | 0 | -3 | 0.488 |
| Bill Parcells | 1986 | nyg | 1 | 48 | 22 | 25 | 1 | -3 | 0.468 |
| Brian Billick | 2000 | rav | 1 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1982 | was | 1 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Jimmy Johnson | 1993 | dal | 2 | 64 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Don McCafferty | 1970 | clt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| George Seifert | 1989 | sfo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mike Ditka | 1985 | chi | 1 | 41 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0.512 |
| Weeb Ewbank | 1968 | nyj | 1 | 182 | 88 | 87 | 7 | 1 | 0.502 |
| Tom Flores | 1980 | rai | 1 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0.562 |
| Sean Payton | 2009 | nor | 1 | 48 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0.52 |
| Chuck Noll | 1975 | pit | 2 | 84 | 43 | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0.517 |
| Pete Carroll | 2013 | sea | 1 | 112 | 58 | 54 | 0 | 4 | 0.517 |
| Mike Tomlin | 2008 | pit | 1 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0.625 |
| Bill Belichick | 2004 | nwe | 3 | 144 | 75 | 69 | 0 | 6 | 0.52 |
| Mike Shanahan | 1997 | den | 1 | 52 | 29 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 0.557 |
| Tom Landry | 1971 | dal | 1 | 152 | 77 | 69 | 6 | 8 | 0.526 |
| Barry Switzer | 1995 | dal | 1 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0.75 |
| Tom Coughlin | 2007 | nyg | 1 | 176 | 93 | 83 | 0 | 10 | 0.528 |
| Jon Gruden | 2002 | tam | 1 | 64 | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 0.593 |
| Mike Holmgren | 1996 | gnb | 1 | 64 | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 0.593 |
| Mike McCarthy | 2010 | gnb | 1 | 64 | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 0.593 |
| Tom Flores | 1983 | rai | 2 | 57 | 35 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 0.614 |
| Mike Shanahan | 1998 | den | 2 | 68 | 41 | 27 | 0 | 14 | 0.602 |
| Bill Parcells | 1990 | nyg | 2 | 111 | 64 | 46 | 1 | 18 | 0.581 |
| Chuck Noll | 1978 | pit | 3 | 126 | 74 | 51 | 1 | 23 | 0.591 |
| John Harbaugh | 2012 | rav | 1 | 64 | 44 | 20 | 0 | 24 | 0.687 |
| Tom Coughlin | 2011 | nyg | 2 | 240 | 133 | 107 | 0 | 26 | 0.554 |
| Bill Walsh | 1988 | sfo | 3 | 136 | 82 | 53 | 1 | 29 | 0.606 |
| Hank Stram | 1969 | kan | 1 | 126 | 76 | 45 | 5 | 31 | 0.623 |
| Chuck Noll | 1979 | pit | 4 | 142 | 88 | 53 | 1 | 35 | 0.623 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1987 | was | 2 | 89 | 63 | 26 | 0 | 37 | 0.707 |
| Tony Dungy | 2006 | clt | 1 | 160 | 102 | 58 | 0 | 44 | 0.637 |
| Tom Landry | 1977 | dal | 2 | 236 | 137 | 93 | 6 | 44 | 0.593 |
| George Seifert | 1994 | sfo | 2 | 80 | 62 | 18 | 0 | 44 | 0.775 |
| Vince Lombardi | 1966 | gnb | 1 | 94 | 68 | 23 | 3 | 45 | 0.739 |
| John Madden | 1976 | rai | 1 | 98 | 70 | 21 | 7 | 49 | 0.75 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1991 | was | 3 | 152 | 101 | 51 | 0 | 50 | 0.664 |
| Bill Cowher | 2005 | pit | 1 | 208 | 130 | 77 | 1 | 53 | 0.627 |
| Vince Lombardi | 1967 | gnb | 2 | 108 | 80 | 25 | 3 | 55 | 0.754 |
| Don Shula | 1972 | mia | 1 | 126 | 91 | 30 | 5 | 61 | 0.742 |
| Don Shula | 1973 | mia | 2 | 140 | 105 | 30 | 5 | 75 | 0.767 |
| Bill Belichick | 2014 | nwe | 4 | 304 | 199 | 105 | 0 | 94 | 0.654 |
The man with the most career games coached prior to winning his first Super Bowl? Bill Cowher, of course, who coached for 13 years and 208 games prior to the 2005 season.