The NFL’s most dysfunctional franchises, ranked

It often feels like the entire NFL is a big dysfunctional train wreck. But some organizations are certainly more dysfunctional than others. At the moment, these 10 are particularly maladjusted:

10. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are never a full-out dumpster fire, mainly because they’re well-run from the top. But head coach Mike Tomlin made critical mistakes with his treatment of Antonio Brown, and general manager Kevin Colbert botched the the entire Le’Veon Bell contract situation. They get credit for cutting bait on those guys, but both situations reflected badly on the organization. The Steelers have taken more fire than we’re used to in recent years. And what was with that whole raid on Bell’s locker? It’s a bad look, man.

9. Houston Texans

The Texans don’t have a general manager. Enough said.

8. Oakland Raiders

The Raiders have really gotten their shit together this year. That has a lot to do with the fact they’ve had more success on the field. Still, they make the list because they were stupid enough to bring in Antonio Brown. That was bad PR they didn’t need.

7. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers are and always have been comically dysfunctional on the field, and a series of Murphy’s law losses this season doesn’t change that. The difference now is that they’re a road team in their own stadium, and their owner is dropping F-bombs to deny rumors — probably started by the league itself — that they could move to London. They never should have left San Diego, and I think they know it.

6. Detroit Lions

Matt Patricia does some really weird shit, and the organization seems to have pissed off its players with its odd moves of late. Top cornerback Darius Slay recently called out the defense in public. This isn’t Matt Millen-level dysfunction, but the Lions are definitely sabotaging themselves…again.

5. New York Giants

Players-only meetings basically scream dysfunction, and the way they handled the end of Eli Manning’s starting run (especially in 2017, but also in 2019) was embarrassing. General manager Dave Gettleman refuses to face the media to explain any of his (oft-baffling) moves, and turnover machine Daniel Jones might not be capable of saving this team in that market.

4. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are dysfunctional in the truest sense of the word. They don’t have drama or anything (right now anyway), but they don’t function properly, efficiently, or productively. They’re cheap, they’re allergic to free agency, and it’s a joke that Andy Dalton and A.J. Green remain on the roster.

3. Cleveland Browns

This might seem like minutiae, but the little things often say a lot, and it’s ridiculous that Odell Beckham Jr. has already been called out by the league for four uniform violations this season. One forced him off the field with the Browns in the red zone, and another likely caused a distraction when he had to change cleats midway through a game. Rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens can’t get him in line, and he’s also reportedly been vocal about his lack of targets in the offense. And with the high-priced, allegedly talented Browns also failing miserably on the field, things could get even worse in Cleveland soon.

2. New York Jets

They finally let general manager Mike Maccagnan hire his own head coach, which was a bad decision. Maccagnan hired Adam freakin’ Gase, which was a terrible decision. They then fired Maccagnan before Gase coached a game, which was a ridiculous decision. And somewhere in there, they gave monster contracts to a running back and an off-ball linebacker, both of which were laughable decisions. Now they’re arguably the worst team in the league after losing to an opponent that is actively trying to lose, and their acting CEO isn’t hiding his displeasure.

1. Washington Redskins

Daniel Snyder is widely considered to be the worst owner in sports, so it’s no surprise that the Redskins can’t win on or off the field while they hemorrhage fans. First-round pick Dwayne Haskins is off to a disastrous start as the so-called franchise quarterback, and the icing on the cake comes from the way they botched the Trent Williams situation. It’s an utter mess. Maybe that’ll change when Snyder sells the team and it changes its racist nickname. We aren’t holding our breath.

Dysfunction on the horizon: Titans, Jaguars, Bears, Panthers, Buccaneers, Falcons, Broncos