NFL Season Preview: Coach of the Year Odds

Posted on: September 1, 2022, 02:00h. 

Last updated on: August 29, 2022, 05:17h.

This year the favorite to win the NFL’s “Coach of the Year” is the Los Angeles Chargers Brandon Staley. But this award is one of the toughest to handicap.

NFL Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year trophy, above. This year Brandon Staley is the favorite to win the award. (Image: Deadspin)

Brandon Staley (+1400) is known as a roll the dice, go-for-it-on-fourth-down all the time, gunslinging head coach. With Justin Herbert at quarterback and playing an up-tempo style, Staley often catches defenses guessing.

But as he enters his second season, coming off a 9-8 rookie campaign and a missed playoff spot, Staley’s team will certainly need to make the playoffs on top of being entertaining. Playing in a division that could easily see them in fourth place, it’s tough to commit to saying he should be the favorite for the “Coach of the Year” honors.

But it’s tough to get a feel for what it takes to win the award. The previous year’s one-win team can win eight games, and the coach could have done a magnificent job.

Even in the legendary Bill Belichick’s tenure with the New England Patriots, he has only won three “Coach of the Year” awards, and none since 2012.

Brian Daboll +1600

Brian Daboll is the new coach of the New York Giants and is tied with a group of coaches as the second favorite to win the coach of the year. The 47-year-old Canadian-born coach with an offensive mindset has been the offensive coordinator of four teams during his tenure in the NFL.

Daboll has also served twice under Bill Belichick in New England as assistant coach during the seasons of 2000-2006, and again from 2013 to 2016.

Nathaniel Hackett +1600

The Denver Broncos are also bringing in a new head coach this season in Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett has great ties to the game, as his father was the legendary Paul Hackett, the former college and NFL head coach.

Being brought into the situation in Denver is a great place to start in the NFL. Not a team with Super Bowl expectations, if Hackett can help lead this team to the playoffs, he could be sitting with a trophy in his lap at season’s end.

Rounding out the List

Three more coaches listed at +1600 are Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins, Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings, and Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions.

Outside of Campbell, every other head coach at +1600 is a rookie looking to take big strides in season two. The Lions won just three times a year ago. But expectations, mainly because of Campbell’s “bite their kneecaps” attitude, has onlookers expecting big things in Detroit this year.

The coaches with odds of less than +2000 to win “Coach of the Year” are five coaches with listed odds of +1800. Doug Pederson in Jacksonville, Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas, Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia and Sean McDermott in Buffalo.