Metacritic Games

NFL Head Coach (Playstation 2)

NFL Head Coach reinvents football gaming by introducing the first 3D strategy sports game that challenges gamers to build and manage every aspect of a football team from the ground up. A simple conversation system and an engaging 3D graphical interface allow users to immerse themselves into the lives of an NFL head coach. As head coach, you develop a team strategy, execute it on and off the field, and try to build a winning organization year after year. Your status as a coaching legend will rise and fall based on all of your actions as you strive to become the greatest head coach of all time. Behind the desk, on the practice field, or while wearing the headset on game days, take the reins of your favorite NFL team and lead it to victory. [Electronic Arts]

Electronic Arts
Sports Management Simulation
Players: 1
E (Everyone)
Developer: EA Tiburon
Released June 20, 2006

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

66 / 100

Critic Reviews

81 Digital Entertainment News
It’s not perfect, it’s not available on next-gen systems, but for control freaks, it may be the most exhaustively complete sports SIM ever released on a console.
76 Cheat Code Central
When Head Coach hits, it slams it out of the ballpark. Excellent structure and balance in the practice periods before game day ensure that you take your time and prepare extensively, while tasks at the front office put you in control of every aspect of the franchise.
75 PGNx Media
Basically, all of the micromanagement parts of the game will make fans gush with excitement.
75 Gaming Age
It is nice to see EA Sports use their license for something a bit different.
75 Detroit Free Press
EA Sports is best known for its other monster football game, "Madden NFL." But where "Madden" lets you control real-life players and plays on the field, "Head Coach" takes you behind the action, putting you in the Gatorade-scented shoes of a coach you create from scratch.
72 IGN
As it stands, NFL Head Coach will appeal to die-hard fantasy football fanatics and Madden franchise mode junkies, and to little else. Still, that's all EA ever wanted.
72 GameSpot
Still, while Head Coach is ultimately an imperfect football-management simulation, it is also, almost in spite of itself, a frequently fun one. Those with a penchant for serious football management are most certainly going to find things to like about it.
71 Gamers' Temple
So I was interested to find out if my enjoyment for football overcame my disinterest in strategic games. Well in my case the micromanagement aspect was just too much for me to overcome.
70 Gamezilla!
An excellent first attempt. There are a number of tweaks that will improve the gameplay if it’s turned into a series and it has plenty of potential.
70 GamePro
Overall, the unique approach of NFL Head Coach makes this game a smart pick for football freaks and sports gamers looking to add some analytical and intellectual flavor to their library.
70 Gamer 2.0
It takes a hell of a long time to complete one season in this game, and it takes a lot longer with the PS2’s load times.
70 Games Radar (in-house)
Chances are that NFL Head Coach won’t cure your football jones unless heavy-duty statistical simulators are up your alley.
68 Game Informer
Even though you are the coach in this game, you're still little more than a bystander. [Aug 2006, p.84]
61 GameZone
If I had to give advice to the development team, it would be to allow players more freedom in the off-season. Only allowing them two things to do between idiotic load screens is awful.
60 Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
The depth to which NFL Head Coach goes to simulate its world is impressive. Pigskin fanatics will love it, but if I want stress and boredom, I think I'll stick with my day job. [Aug 2006, p.79]
60 GameSpy
Playing NFL Head Coach and having a good time while doing so is a daunting task, one far more challenging than taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.
60 ZTGameDomain
NFL head coach takes a bold leap and attempts to start something well needed in the sports simulation field, change. Unfortunately, it falters in more aspects than it flies, with horrible AI, and an in game system that makes the game feel like more of a chore than a fun experience.
60 PSM Magazine
If football action is more your thing stick to "Madden". [Sep 2006, p.88]
48 My Gamer
It falters in more aspects than it flies, with horrible AI, and an in game system that makes the game feel like more of a chore than a fun experience.
40 G4 TV
There’s something decidedly satisfying seeing your hard work and meticulous planning pay off with a trip to the Super Bowl. But that trip is fraught with so many pitfalls – the most annoying being the rigid scheduling issues – that you’ll need superhuman patience to see it through to the end.
40 eToychest
NFL head Coach is obviously targeted toward a very niche group of extreme football enthusiasts, but the game, such as it is, has been made into such a laborious, oftentimes arduous affair that even the target audience is likely to be turned away.
33 The Onion (A.V. Club)
The load times between each task are inexcusable, but worse yet are the games themselves, which you barely have to orchestrate.

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