With two games remaining in the regular season, the NFL Coach of the Year is still a close race. Mike Vrabel, in his first season with the New England Patriots, is the current frontrunner. Vrabel is the Coach of the Year favorite at +175 odds according to a recent update at BetMGM. Other contenders include Mike Macdonald (+250) from the Seattle Seahawks, Kyle Shanahan (+350) from the San Francisco 49ers, Ben Johnson (+360) from the Chicago Bears, and Liam Coen from the Jacksonville Jaguars (+850).
Mike Vrabel (Patriots) +175
Mike Vrabel previously won the Coach of the Year back in 2021 with the Tennessee Titans. The front office fired him at the end of the 2023 season after the Titans posted consecutive losing seasons. After taking a year off, Vrabel returned to the NFL. He landed in New England, where he spent eight seasons as a linebacker with the Patriots and won three Super Bowls under Bill Belichick.
The Patriots took a step back when quarterback Tom Brady left the team after the 2019 season and played three seasons for the Tampa Bay Bucs. After Brady led the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory in 2020, fans began to question Belichick’s authority. Within a few seasons, Belichick and the Patriots would part ways.
New England made a crucial error hiring Jerod Mayo to replace Belichick, which they quickly corrected by firing Mayo and bringing in Vrabel. The Patriots were 4-13 last season and already won three times more games this season under Vrabel.
The Patriots clinched a playoff berth and won the AFC East title for the first time since Brady’s departure. Through Week 16, the Patriots and Denver Broncos have the same record at 12-3, and they’re both fighting for the #1 seed in the AFC.
Vrabel emerged as the consensus Coach of the Year during the middle of the Patriots’ 10-game win streak. When the Patriots lost to the Buffalo Bills in Week 15, Vrabel’s price dropped from -250 to +200. After the Patriots secured a victory in Week 16, his odds improved to +175.
Mike Macdonald (Seahawks) +250
During his rookie season with the Seahawks in 2024, Macdonald led them to a 10-7 record. Even though the Seahawks narrowly missed the playoffs, Macdonald earned accolades for achieving a winning record after replacing Pete Carroll. Macdonald had huge shoes to fill. Caroll, one of the NFL’s longest tenured coaches, won a Super Bowl with the team during the 2013 season, but the front office felt the locker room needed a fresh approach.
Macdonald, known as a defensive guru, spent time as the defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens. He re-established defensive dominance in Seattle, which is one of the reasons why the Seahawks are in first place in the NFC West and vying for the #1 seed in the playoffs.
Macdonald saw his price jump from +475 to +200 after the Seahawks defeated the L.A. Rams in an overtime thriller on Thursday Night Football.
Kyle Shanahan (49ers) +350
Although Kyle Shanahan has become a figurehead with the 49ers, he’s never won the Coach of the Year despite leading his team to 13 wins on two occasions, in 2019 and 2022. His father, Mike Shanahan, never won the award either, even though the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons in the late 1990s. The elder Shanahan ended his career with the Broncos by securing the most wins in franchise history.
After the 49ers won their 10th game this season in Week 15, it marked the fifth time in the last seven years that Shanahan led his squad to double-digit victories.
Shanahan is currently third at BetMGM’s awards board, holding steady at +350 odds.
Ben Johnson (Bears) +360
Ben Johnson established himself as the NFL’s top offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions due to his innovations and dual-running back philosophy. He was at the top of the short list of head coaching candidates for a couple of seasons before he finally accepted his first head coaching job.
During his rookie season with the Bears, Johnson led them to their first playoff berth since 2020. With an 11-4 record, the Bears moved into first place in the NFC North and currently occupy the #2 seed in the NFC behind the Seahawks. After losing their first two games of the season, the Bears went 11-2 with seven wins in their last eight games.
If I had a vote, I’d select Johnson as the NFL Coach of the Year because he turned around the franchise with an offensive overhaul and helped transform Caleb Williams into a potential All-Pro quarterback. The Bears were 5-12 last season and more than doubled last season’s victories.
Liam Coen (Jaguars) +850
The Jaguars (11-4) are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now and soaring high after an impressive road victory against the Broncos in Denver. If the season ended today, the Jaguars would secure the #3 seed in the AFC playoffs thanks to Liam Coen’s leadership.
Frustrated fans and haters were quick to write off Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars selected the former Clemson star quarterback with the #1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, Lawrence barely survived a disastrous rookie campaign under head coach Urban Meyer, who was out of his depth and fired after a 2-11 start. Lawrence initially welcomed Doug Pederson, a former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl champion, as the Jags’ new head coach in 2022. However, Lawrence struggled in subsequent seasons while his biggest critics were not shy to label him an “NFL Draft bust.”
Coen believed in Lawrence, who was one of the main reasons Coen filled the head coaching vacancy in Jacksonville. Despite a bumpy start, the offense is humming. It took several weeks before Lawrence and the team adapted to Coen’s new playbook and his aggressive vertical attacking scheme that he previously perfected as the offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Jaguars went 5-12 last season, and already won 11 games this season with an outside shot at securing the #1 seed in the AFC.
Liam Coen is the fifth favorite on BetMGM’s awards board as a long shot at +850 to win Coach of the Year.
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