Top NFL Coach of the Year Picks: Fresh Names Favored By Sportsbooks
The favorites to win NFL Coach of the Year are much different than they have been in the past. Is there some great value down the list when making your 2022 NFL Coach of the Year picks?
Last season, Mike Vrabel took home the award after leading the Tennessee Titans to a 12-5 record. In 2020, Kevin Stefanski won the honor in his first season leading the Cleveland Browns, as he took the franchise to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Vrabel and Stefanski had very different paths to earn the top award, so will this year’s winner be someone with proven success or a new coach who turns his team around?
The books favor some less successful coaches in Dan Campbell, Brandon Staley, Kevin O’Connell, and Brian Daboll entering the 2022 campaign. BetMGM even has Campbell at +1000 to win the award, the lowest number for any coach at any major sportsbook. As you try to find the best bet for the NFL Coach of the Year Award, one statistic to know is this: every single coach who has won this award since 1991 has had at least 10 wins during the season they were honored. The last to win without 10 wins was Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson in 1990.
Below, we look at the best bets to win AP NFL Coach of the Year (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and BetMGM).
Best Bets for NFL Coach of the Year
2022 NFL Coach of the Year Picks
Staley (+1400)
Of all the coaches favored to win the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award, Staley is the only one in charge of a team that is expected to win 10 or more games this season. Additionally, the Chargers play in the AFC West, which has gotten all the attention this offseason.
The expectations are high for the Chargers, and sometimes that can work against a coach, especially if someone can completely turn around a franchise like Stefanski or Matt Nagy did in recent seasons. However, if Staley can dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs and hold off the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, it’s hard to imagine a coach with a more impressive resume than his at the end of the year.
Sirianni (+2000)
The NFC East is wide open this season. The Cowboys are the favorites, but with an aging Ezekiel Elliott and the injury to Tyron Smith, there are certainly opportunities for any of the other three teams to win the division. Enter the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia is one of those teams that is very well positioned to win 10 games this year. Nick Sirianni made the playoffs in his first year in Philadelphia by leading the team to a 9-8 record. Now, he has the opportunity to continue to build with Jalen Hurts at quarterback and lead the Eagles to an NFC East crown. If he can do that, and the Eagles get one of the top two seeds in the NFC, then he will surely be discussed as one of the top choices for Coach of the Year.
McDermott (+3000)
The Buffalo Bills are expected to be the best team in football, so why is Sean McDermott being so undervalued by sportsbooks right now? There are lofty expectations for the Bills and everyone is expecting them to run away with the AFC East. Additionally, they have an incredibly talented team, so the expectation should be that McDermott can coach them to a great record and potentially a Super Bowl win.
While there may be a flashier option from a coach who leads a turnaround for a team, if the Bills finish with the best record in football at 13-4 or better, then McDermott will be one of the few names shortlisted to take home the top honor. Realistically, as long as Buffalo is in the mix for the top seed at the end of the season, which there is no reason to think they won’t be, McDermott’s name will at least be in the discussion. Because of what he’s working with, he is the best value pick of any head coach this season.
Where to Bet on 2022 NFL Futures
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NFL Coach of the Year picks made 8/29/2022 at 11 a.m. ET
