Super Bowl experience at quarterback is often debated — Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow have none — but what about head coaches? Does it matter that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has coached for a championship before and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has not?
History tells us — to little surprise — experience matters.
There have been 26 previous meetings in the Super Bowl between a first-time coach and one who had coached in the game before. Coaches with experience — such as McVay — are 15-11 straight up in the game.
This will be the third year in a row the Super Bowl features a first-time head coach against one with experience. At Super Bowl 55, Bruce Arians won in his first game against the experienced Andy Reid. Reid's Chiefs won Super Bowl 54 over the San Francisco 49ers in Kyle Shanahan's first appearance.
Getting more specific, this is McVay's second appearance in the Super Bowl compared to Taylor's first. Coaches making their second appearance against head coaches in their debut have gone 7-2 straight up.
| Super Bowl | Second Time | First Time | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl 54 | Andy Reid | Kyle Shanahan | Reid |
| Super Bowl 45 | Mike Tomlin | Mike McCarthy | McCarthy |
| Super Bowl 38 | Bill Belichick | John Fox | Belichick |
| Super Bowl 34 | Dick Vermeil | Jeff Fisher | Vermeil |
| Super Bowl 32 | Mike Holmgren | Mike Shanahan | Shanahan |
| Super Bowl 29 | George Seifert | Bobby Ross | Seifert |
| Super Bowl 25 | Bill Parcells | Marv Levy | Parcells |
| Super Bowl 4 | Hank Stram | Bud Grant | Stram |
| Super Bowl 2 | Vince Lombardi | John Rauch | Lombardi |
Mike McCarthy and Mike Shanahan are the only coaches to win their Super Bowl debut against a head coach making his second try. McCarthy's Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Aaron Rodgers' lone Super Bowl win. Shanahan's Broncos — led by John Elway and Terrell Davis — beat Brett Favre and the Packers.
In McVay's first Super Bowl appearance, his Rams lost 13-3 to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 53. It was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl of all-time.
The Rams are either 4- or 4.5-point favorites depending on the sportsbook. You can shop for the best odds and compare lines here.
