Football is the ultimate team sport.  With that said, the quarterback is not only the most important position in the game, but in all of sports.  What makes a great quarterback work well is usually the relationship he has with his head coach, even if the coach knows just to leave his star alone.

To get you fully prepared for the NFL season we are continuing our countdown series as we move to the best head coach/quarterback combinations.

In this first volume, we’re ranking the worst head coach/quarterback combinations entering the 2015 season.

32. Cleveland Browns- Mike Pettine/ Josh McCown

The Cleveland Browns aren’t the worst team in the NFL, but they just might have the worst offense entering 2015.  Coach Pettine probably isn’t the worst head coach in the NFL, but when you add the fact that there’s no answer at quarterback, the combination deserves the No. 32 ranking (out of 32 teams).

Pettine is a defensive guy and he’s not the sole reason for holding down the ranking.  Josh McCown is the definition of a journeyman quarterback and he was run out of Tampa Bay after one tumultuous season where McCown often served as the de facto offensive coordinator.

When you take into account the lack of weapons on the outside for the Browns, and the mediocre running back talent, it’s difficult to envision McCown (or eventually Johnny Manziel) having any real success on offense this season.

31. Tennessee Titans- Ken Whisenhunt/Marcus Mariota

The Titans were forced to hit the reset button at the quarterback position when former first-round pick Jake Locker couldn’t stay healthy and finally retired.

The reason why they’re ranked so low is because Ken Whisenhunt hasn’t done much as a head coach without the great Kurt Warner at quarterback, and it’s pretty much understood that there will be a pretty steep learning curve for rookie Marcus Mariota.

Although Whisenhunt is probably a slightly better head coach than Lovie Smith and maybe a few others, there doesn’t seem to be the pieces around Marcus Mariota to succeed this season.  Mariota has the benefit of lining up in one of the NFL’s worst divisions, but he will have his work cut out for him trying to adjust out of the spread offense he played in at Oregon and into somewhat of a pro-style system.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Lovie Smith/ Jameis Winston

At season’s end, Bucs fans hope that the combo of Lovie and Jameis will be a winning one, but there’s no real reason to believe that will happen anytime soon.

Lovie Smith did about as bad of a job coaching as one could do without losing his job last season.  The Bucs didn’t have elite talent across the board, and maybe the season was partially harpooned by Jeff Tedford stepping away as offensive coordinator, but Smith’s team responded horribly to adversity.  A team which could have competed for the NFC South title finished with the worst record in the NFL.

The combination of a bad head coach (it’s tough to argue if you watched 2014) and a rookie quarterback will put the Buccaneers pretty far down on the list.  Jameis Winston made a lot of mistakes in college (not just off the field) and he will make even more rookie mistakes this year.

With that said, at least Tampa Bay finally has a quarterback that gives them hope and although 2015 doesn’t look like it will have a lot of highlights, they have real weapons on the outside for Jameis to throw to.  Winston has very high football IQ and will likely improve as the season progresses.

29. Houston Texans- Bill O’Brien/Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer

This is another situation where the quarterback is holding down the ranking more than the head coach.  In his first year as head coach, Bill O’Brien turned around a two-win team (from 2013) and nearly made the playoffs (finishing with a 9-7 record).

The problem for O’Brien is that he doesn’t have a legitimate answer at quarterback, whether Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer wins the job.

Mallett seems to have an early leg up on the position as he was brought back to Houston for a reason, and he possesses a cannon for an arm.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much more than that and he lacks legitimate experience at the position.  Outside of DeAndre Hopkins, the Texans don’t have a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver and it’s going to be difficult for whomever wins the job to really succeed in the passing game.

28. Buffalo Bills- Rex Ryan/E.J. Manuel or Tyrod Taylor or Matt Cassel

If three or more guys are named as possible starting quarterbacks, it’s clear where the problem is.  To be honest, if two guys are named then there’s a huge problem.

The reason why the Bills aren’t lower on the list is solely because of Rex Ryan.  Ryan has proven himself as one of the very good head coaches in the NFL, regardless of what people think of his mouth and antics.

He takes over a winning team, and as much as it pains to type this, if Kyle Orton hadn’t retired the Bills would be a much better team.

That’s how bad the quarterback situation is.

E.J. Manuel has showed nothing in his limited chances as a starting quarterback.  Tyrod Taylor was dumped as a backup.  Matt Cassel is the definition of a solid backup, but three organizations have already given up on him.

There are weapons galore on the Bills roster and the offensive line should be solid.  Whomever wins the starting quarterback job will have a pretty good chance to succeed.  It’s just tough to imagine any of those three guys really succeeding.