Legacy is an overarching theme with any Super Bowl. Pull out a victory and you'll join an exclusive club consisting of the few who have reached the NFL's mountaintop. For some, it can also be the crown jewel for how they are viewed in league history compared to some of the game's best. While plenty of that legacy talk will center around both quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, there's also a lot on the line for the head coaches of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles as well.
Philadelphia's Nick Sirianni has reached the Super Bowl for the first time in his head-coaching career. The 41-year-old is in just his second season with the Eagles and off to quite the start leading the team. Philly earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season and has dominated throughout the postseason, outscoring its opponents 69-14.
After digging into the NFL history books to see if Sirianni will have any beginner's luck on his side, it looks more like a coin flip for the Eagles head coach.
In the previous 56 Super Bowls, there have been 59 head coaches reaching the big game for the first time in their careers. Combined, those coaches are just below .500, owning a 28-31 record. Of course, it is a bit more difficult to parse through those stats, particularly in the early years of the Super Bowl, as multiple head coaches were playing in the game for the first time. However, even when you look at recent history, it does appear to be more of a 50-50 shot. Since the 2000 season, coaches reaching the Super Bowl for the first time are 13-14.
History of first-time Super Bowl coaches
| SUPER BOWL | HEAD COACH(ES) | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
Super Bowl I | Vince Lombardi, Packers (W), Hank Stram, Chiefs (L) | 1-1 |
Super Bowl II | John Rauch, Raiders (L) | 1-2 |
Super Bowl III | 2-3 | |
Super Bowl IV | Bud Grant, Vikings (L) | 2-4 |
Super Bowl V | Don McCafferty, Colts (W), Tom Landry, Cowboys (L) | 3-5 |
Super Bowl VII | George Allen, Washington (L) | 3-6 |
Super Bowl IX | Chuck Noll, Steelers (W) | 4-6 |
Super Bowl XI | John Madden, Raiders (W) | 5-6 |
Super Bowl XII | Red Miller, Broncos (L) | 5-7 |
Super Bowl XIV | Ray Malavasi, Rams (L) | 5-8 |
Super Bowl XV | Tom Flores, Raiders (W), Dick Vermeil, Eagles (L) | 6-9 |
Super Bowl XVI | 7-10 | |
Super Bowl XVII | Joe Gibbs, Washington (W) | 8-10 |
Super Bowl XX | 9-11 | |
| Super Bowl XXI | Bill Parcells, Giants (W), Dan Reeves, Broncos (L) | 10-12 |
| Super Bowl XXIII | Sam Wyche, Bengals (L) | 10-13 |
| Super Bowl XXIV | George Seifert, 49ers (W) | 11-13 |
| Super Bowl XXV | Marv Levy, Bills (L) | 11-14 |
| Super Bowl XXVII | Jimmy Johnson, Cowboys (W) | 12-14 |
| Super Bowl XXIX | Bobby Ross, Chargers (L) | 12-15 |
| Super Bowl XXX | Barry Switzer, Cowboys (W), Bill Cowher, Steelers (L) | 13-16 |
| Super Bowl XXXI | Mike Holmgren, Packers (W) | 14-16 |
| Super Bowl XXXII | Mike Shanahan, Broncos (W) | 15-16 |
| Super Bowl XXXIV | Jeff Fisher, Titans (L) | 15-17 |
| Super Bowl XXXV | Brian Billick, Ravens (W), Jim Fassel, Giants (L) | 16-18 |
| Super Bowl XXXVI | Bill Belichick, Patriots (W), Mike Martz, Rams (L) | 17-19 |
| Super Bowl XXXVII | Jon Gruden, Buccaneers (W), Bill Callahan, Raiders (L) | 18-20 |
| Super Bowl XXXVIII | John Fox, Panthers (L) | 18-21 |
| Super Bowl XXXIX | Andy Reid, Eagles (L) | 18-22 |
| Super Bowl XLI | Tony Dungy, Colts (W), Lovie Smith, Bears (L) | 19-23 |
| Super Bowl XLII | Tom Coughlin, Giants (W) | 20-23 |
| Super Bowl XLIII | Mike Tomlin, Steelers (W), Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals (L) | 21-24 |
| Super Bowl XLIV | Sean Payton, Saints (W), Jim Caldwell, Colts (L) | 22-25 |
| Super Bowl XLV | Mike McCarthy, Packers (W) | 23-25 |
| Super Bowl XLVII | John Harbaugh, Ravens (W), Jim Harbaugh, 49ers (L) | 24-26 |
| Super Bowl XLVIII | Pete Carroll, Seahawks (W) | 25-26 |
| Super Bowl 50 | Gary Kubiak, Broncos (W), Ron Rivera, Panthers (L) | 26-27 |
| Super Bowl LI | Dan Quinn, Falcons (L) | 26-28 |
| Super Bowl LII | Doug Pederson, Eagles (W) | 27-28 |
| Super Bowl LIII | Sean McVay, Rams (L) | 27-29 |
| Super Bowl LIV | Kyle Shanahan, 49ers (L) | 27-30 |
| Super Bowl LV | Bruce Arians, Buccaneers (W) | 28-30 |
| Super Bowl LVI | Zac Taylor, Bengals (L) | 28-31 |
More recently, first-time Super Bowl coaches have been in a bit of a slump, losing four of their last six appearances, including Zac Taylor with the Bengals a year ago. That said, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was able to get the win in his first crack just a couple of seasons ago, so it's certainly within the realm of possibility for Sirianni.
Meanwhile, Sirianni's contemporary, Andy Reid, lost in his first trip to the big game back in Super Bowl XXXIX when he was the head coach of the Eagles. Reid manned Philadelphia's sideline from 1999 to 2012 and is the winningest coach in franchise history, going 130-93-1 over his tenure. While he never was able to win a title with the Eagles, he finally hoisted the Lombardi Trophy a few years ago with a Super Bowl LIV victory as head coach of the Chiefs.
Super Bowl LVII will kick off on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
