2020 NFL Coach of the Year Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

7 minute read

The 2020 NFL Coach of the Year award has been handed out annually since 1957 by the Associated Press, which is one reason why it's the most widely recognized outlet handing out the honors.

Sportsbooks have started increasing their betting markets on the upcoming season and one of the most potentially profitable wagers focuses on projecting the winner of this. Last season's winner, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, won for the first time in his 12th season at the helm and had odds of +2800. Cleveland's Freddie Kitchens entered the season as the betting favorite and ended up being fired after a 7-9 finish.

Co-Favorites Lead Wide Open COY Field

There's a clear pecking order on most NFL futures. The Chiefs and Ravens are your Super Bowl favorites. Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are joined by Seahawks star Russell Wilson as the top MVP candidates.

The No. 1 and No. 2 draft picks, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and Washington's Chase Young, are frontrunners for Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year.

However, when it comes to the guys manning the sideline, there is no clear favorite. New England's Bill Belichick, looking to prove he can win despite losing Tom Brady, is a +1200 (Bet $100 to win $1200) co-favorite according FanDuel Sportsbook . He's won three Coach of the Year awards but needed to finish 14-2 or better every time to get the nod.

Without his quarterback for the past two decades sharing in the credit for all the spoils, Belichick may only need to rack up another AFC East title with Jarrett Stidham or Brian Hoyer at the controls to stake claim to a fourth honor. Expectations for the Patriots are lower than they have been since 2001, when Belichick was coming off a 5-11 first season and Brady was slated to serve as Drew Bledsoe's primary backup.

Belichick would join the late Don Shula as the lone four-time winners of the award.

Mike McCarthy, beginning his first season as head coach of the Cowboys, has been cast as a +1200 (Bet $100 to win $200) co-favorite due to the belief that he might provide a significant enough upgrade over former head coach Jason Garrett that Dallas immediately competes for an NFC title.

After underachieving and stumbling to an 8-8 finish in 2019, Dallas is hoping an offense that has the potential to be one of the NFL's best will be able to flourish. The expectation that Dak Prescott will get a new contract before racking up stats with receivers Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb has helped the Cowboys nose ahead of the Eagles as the NFC East favorite.

After splitting with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, McCarthy has an opportunity to restore his reputation. He crashed with an 11-16-1 run after reaching the playoffs in nine of 10 seasons, winning a Super Bowl. After a year out of the spotlight, he's landed the highest-profile head coaching gig in the NFL and will likely have a longer leash out of the gate than he'll ever have under owner/GM Jerry Jones.

NFL 2020 AP Coach of the Year Odds

McDermott Worth a Shot with AFC East in Play

Brady's new boss, Bruce Arians, could become the second head coach in NFL history to win Coach of the Year with three different teams, joining the late Chuck Knox, who won with the Rams, Bills and Seahawks. Arians is expected to let it fly with Brady in a wide-open offense and could benefit if the soon-to-be 43-year-old flourishes.

Arians (+1400) went 7-9 in his first season with the Bucs but was victimized by Jameis Winston throwing 30 interceptions which really proved costly since Tampa dropped six games by seven points or less.

Colts head coach Frank Reich (+1400) is also in a strong position to lay claim to this award since he's got a great shot to lead Indianapolis to a playoff berth following a 7-9 run after Andrew Luck abruptly retired in the preseason. Indy fell in seven of the final nine games, running out of gas after being besieged by injuries.

The Cardinals are also expected to improve in the second season under Kliff Kingsbury and former No. 1 pick Kyler Murray, but at +1800, there's a better option than riding with the team expected to bring up the rear in the NFC West regardless of their expected improvement. Bills head coach Sean McDermott has built up some credibility by leading his team to a pair of Wild Card Game appearances in three years and now presides over the AFC East favorite.

Buffalo is hoping to see more consistency from a young group led by third-year quarterback Josh Allen and one of the league's top defensive units but is capable of keeping the Patriots' run of consecutive division titles from reaching a dozen. New England has won the AFC East in 16 of the last 17 years.

The Bills haven't celebrated a division title since 1995, so if they're able to hold serve as the preseason favorite (+130, Bet $100 to win $130), we could see McDermott become the first winner from Buffalo since Knox won in '80. Bills coaching legend Marv Levy never won the AP Coach of the Year award, though he was honored by the Sporting News in 1988.

Other potential best bets include three tremendous options at +2200 or better in Andy Reid, Harbaugh and Pete Carroll since they all have the top MVP candidates to lean on. Reid and Harbaugh (both +2200) have the best shot at finishing 16-0 after combining to go 26-6 in '19.

Carroll(+2600) has a Seahawks team a lot of people are sleeping on that could emerge as the class of the loaded NFC West. If he can take control of the division back from the reigning NFC champion 49ers, he'll get consideration

The best of longshots at +3000 or higher include Matt LaFleur (+3000), who guided the Packers to the NFC Championship in his first season. Jon Gruden, looking to lead the Raiders to just their second winning season since 2002, would garner serious consideration if he can bring Las Vegas a winner immediately. At +3400, you could do worse as far as lottery tickets are concerned.

Coach of the Year Winners

Where to place a bet this NFL Season?

• Use our exclusive BetMGM Bonus Code VIBONUS1500 to unlock BetMGM’s welcome offer for new sportsbook users!
• Compare the latest NFL Odds from the best sportsbooks before placing a bet on this week's games.
• Check out the North Carolina Sportsbooks just before they launch legal online sports betting.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson