You always hear about NFL players earning bonuses if they win individual awards during a season.
Many coaches also have an incentive clause if they win Coach of the Year.
Let’s break down the candidates from the 2022-23 regular season with closing NFL odds from BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks.
NFL Coach of the Year
Announced Thursday, February 9, 2023
All of the regular-season awards will be announced at the annual NFL Honors show, which this year is hosted by Kelly Clarkson (not sure of the football ties?) on Feb. 9, 2023, at 9 PM EST.
Since the first NFL Honors in 2012, the show has been held during Super Bowl week in the city hosting the game.
That’s the case again as it will be staged from Symphony Hall in Phoenix. Super Bowl 57 will be held down the road on Feb. 12 at State Farm Arena in Glendale.
Most seasons, an NFL Coach of the Year has led his team to the playoffs, so we might see the winner in the big game. Make sure to check out our NFL picks as we head into the postseason.
The only winner of this award to have a team that finished with a losing record was the Cowboys’ Jimmy Johnson in 1990 when Dallas was 7-9. It was still a six-win improvement from Johnson’s first season in 1989 and a dynasty was on the horizon.
Here are the 2022-23 NFL Coach of the Year candidates and their most recent odds. None are active as of this writing and it’s not clear if any of BMR’s top-rated books will repost closer to Feb. 9.
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers (+150)
What makes an NFL Coach of the Year? There are no set criteria, but it’s usually a guy who leads what was expected to be a bad team to the playoffs. That’s not the case with Shanahan and the 49ers as they reached the NFC Championship Game a season ago and were leading that game in the fourth quarter by 10 at the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams before Jimmy Garoppolo imploded.
This is one of the most talented rosters in the NFL with the likely Defensive Player of the Year in Nick Bosa, potential Comeback Player of the Year in Christian McCaffrey, and an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate in Brock Purdy.
Thing is, Shanahan has worked a minor miracle with the Niners entering the postseason as the NFL’s hottest team on a 10-game winning streak and +160 favorites at BMR’s top-rated books to win the NFC.
Remember, starting QB Trey Lance went down with a season-ending injury in Week 2. No problem, Jimmy G stepped in and the Niners didn’t miss a beat.
When Garoppolo went down with a season-ending injury in Week 13, the sky was supposed to be falling but Purdy, the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 draft, has been spectacular in Shanahan’s unique offense. Purdy is the third rookie QB ever to win each of his first five career starts and second in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes in six consecutive games.
One would have thought Shanahan’s father Mike would have won NFL Coach of the Year once in his heyday with Denver, but he never did. The last 49ers winner was Jim Harbaugh in 2011.
Brian Daboll, Giants (+250)
It’s almost hard to remember what a train wreck the Giants were the past two seasons under Joe Judge because they were so well-coached this season by Daboll, the former Buffalo offensive coordinator.
With mostly the same roster, Daboll’s Giants won nine games and earned the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs. New York won just 10 total games under Judge and had an over-under of 6.5 entering 2022.
Daboll turned Daniel Jones into a competent NFL quarterback despite one of the league’s worst receiving groups as Jones had a career-low five picks and just one lost fumble while setting career highs in yards (3,205) and completion percentage (67.2). Saquon Barkley, though, was the center of the offense and a contender for NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
The Giants have said they want both back next season, but both can hit the free-agent market and only one can be franchise tagged.
No question that Daboll did more with less than the other two favorites on this list. The last Giants winner was Jim Fassel in 1997.
Nick Sirianni, Eagles (+250)
It’s a bit rare for a coach to lead his team to the playoffs one season and then win Coach of the Year the next because there’s obviously a pretty low ceiling. Sirianni may do that, though, as Philly was a wild-card team at 9-7 in the 2021 season but is the NFC’s top seed this year at 14-3.
Sirianni was the betting favorite for much of the season but fell out of the lead when star QB Jalen Hurts went down injured and the Eagles lost back-to-back games in Weeks 16-17 to put that top seed and the NFC East title in jeopardy. That led some voters to basically say that Hurts was the reason for the 13-1 start, not Sirianni. The QB did play in Week 18 and Philly took care of business against the Giants.
I might argue Sirianni deserved this award more in 2021 when Philly started his first season 3-6 and he was on the hot seat, but the Eagles closed on a 6-2 run to reach the postseason (the Titans’ Mike Vrabel won Coach of the Year).
The last Eagles winner of this award was current Chiefs coach Andy Reid in 2002.
Final Thoughts
Daboll deserves it, but Shanahan is going to win it because of Purdy
Make sure to check out the best US Betting Sites available in order to make your bets.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
