Friday Night Lights character power rankings

We’re all starving for sports during this COVID-19 pandemic, so we might as well look back at one of the best sports dramas to ever appear on network television.

Let’s be honest. I don’t need much of an excuse to do a Friday Night Lights power rankings piece, but this is a pretty legit excuse.

The Peter Berg drama series based off the 1990 book by Buzz Bissinger (that also inspired the 2004 movie) launched on NBC in 2006 and lasted five seasons. It was one of those shows that was critically acclaimed, but never pulled in huge ratings. Basically, it had a cult following of 20-year-olds like me and my college roommates at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

If you’ve never seen the show and you’re looking for something to binge watch, now is the time. Friday Night Lights is available for free on the NBC app. In the meantime, these power rankings will give you a good head start on the show. There are a few minor spoiler alerts in here, but I was intentionally vague in some areas. If you get upset, too bad. This show ended in 2011, so we’re well beyond the statute of limitations for FNL spoilers at this point.

1. Coach Eric Taylor

Unlike the fraud that is Gordon Bombay in Mighty Ducks, Coach Taylor was a legitimately good coach and good man. He wasn’t perfect, but he maneuvered the intense pressure of Texas high school football and the crazy parents to consistently produce winners. The players connected with him and the town of Dillion needed him. Plus, there’s some admitted Kyle Chandler bias in here. From Early Edition to Bloodline, the guy is good in everything he does (I bet you weren’t expecting an Early Edition reference). Chandler finally earned a well-deserved Emmy for best actor in a drama series in the final year of FNL.

2. Tim Riggins

Other than Coach Taylor, no character was more important to Friday Night Lights than Riggins. And man, Riggins was all over the map. One minute he was sleeping with his best friend’s girlfriend and the next he was going to jail and taking the rap for his brother. Riggins was kind of a screw-up, but he had a soft side. And he was one hell of a fullback. Think about it — if you were going to buy a Dillon Panthers jersey, you’d buy a Riggins jersey. And he was a fullback.

3. Landry Clarke

Here comes your FNL hot take: Landry Clarke was awesome. Go back and watch the show and you’ll realize how much you need Landry. He was hilarious, a good friend, and he even killed a guy. People forget that.

4. Tami Taylor

Tami Taylor was simply a badass. She managed to be the perfect coach’s wife, but didn’t settle there, also fulfilling roles as a guidance counselor, volleyball coach and principal. She seemingly had a solution for everything. The fact that Connie Britton was nominated for two Emmys in the role speaks to how strong her character was in FNL. I think I might actually be afraid of Tami Taylor. I’m sorry. I mean, Mrs. Taylor.

5.  Brian “Smash” Williams

Smash’s friction with Riggins added to the drama, but his character allowed FNL to dive into recruiting politics and the important issue of racism in high school football, especially in Texas. Even though the star running back didn’t stick around for all five seasons of the show — he’s a high schooler and has to go to college, of course — Smash is one of the best-known characters for a reason.

6. Matt Seracen

Seracen was obviously an important character because he was the starting quarterback in a show about high school football, but let’s be honest, he’s a little meh. He’s kind of like Nick Foles. Yeah, he came in for the injured guy and won a Super Bowl/state championship, but then Gardner Minshew/J.D. McCoy showed up and everyone wanted that guy to play instead. Still, you like him a lot. You trust him. And he’s probably going to be your more reliable starter. Plus, he was bold enough to date the coach’s daughter. That’s probably where the Foles comparison ends. But who knows?

7. Buddy Garrity

Buddy was way too obsessed with high school football. He’s the former quarterback who still thinks he’s on the team, even though he’s in his 50s. That said, Buddy provided plenty of entertainment and proved to have a soft side numerous times throughout the show. I wouldn’t want him to be my dad, but he can be my dad’s friend.

8. Tyra Collette

Tyra’s relationships with both Riggins and Landry were crucial to the show over multiple seasons and she became a pretty likeable character, sticking around to the end. If I’m going to have Landry so high on this list, I have to give Tyra her due and finally admit that she’s better than Lyla. There. I said it.

9. Lyla Garrity

20-year-old Adam Hoge probably would have ranked Lyla No. 1. Older, more mature Adam Hoge realizes she was kind of a mess. I’ll cut her a little slack for cheating on her paralyzed boyfriend because Jason Street did his best to push her away, but then she couldn’t figure out what she wanted, got baptized and ended up doing a Christian radio show. I mean, that’s an actual sentence about a television character. But that’s why, in the end, there was always Riggins. And Derek Jeter.

10. Vince Howard

This final spot had to go to either Howard or Jason Street. Street certainly is deserving because his catastrophic injury was the foundation to the strong start for the show, but any high school drama is going to be scratching to hold on by Season 4 and 5 and Michael B. Jordan’s character gave the show new life. Street was always more of a peripheral character, while Howard carried some heavy weight late in FNL’s great life.

And before you even mention that Julie Taylor is not on this list… stop. Just stop.

Texas, Forever.