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2025 NFL Coach of the Year Predictions and Betting Odds

by Mike Allen - 8/7/2025

NFL Coach of the Year odds and predictions Mike Vrabel New England Patriots

There are a lot of people out there who say being a starting quarterback in the NFL is the most challenging job on the football field or possibly in all of sports. Any way you pass out the pieces of that pie, those folks have a pretty good argument.

With that said, succeeding as a head coach in the NFL may be even more difficult. From the locker room management to dealing with all of the egos on a personal basis to answering the media's questions, no matter how asinine, is something only a select few can handle.

Some will point out that the head coach's job isn't that bad because he has his coordinators and position coaches to do his dirty work, but those same people are the first to blame the head coach after a 3-game skid.

These guys have to be experts in their field, politicians, and even babysitters, because let's face it. The average age of an NFL player is 26.5 years old. That means that despite the size of their bodies and wallets, half the league is a bunch of kids.

These are just a few of the reasons that the NFL Coach of the Year is one of my favorite awards given out at the end of the season.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that it's a fickle award. What I mean by that is the league doesn't like to give it to the same coach more than twice, and very rarely do we see a skipper win it three times. Only Bill Belichick and Chuck Knox have won the award thrice. Yes, thrice is a word. I looked it up. The late great Don Shula, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 90, is the only NFL head coach to win the award four times.

Voters also tend to stay away from a coach who has recently won, and often, it's all about their situation. They're looking for overachievers. As we check the betting board in a moment, you'll see some of the most respected and accomplished names at the bottom of the list.

Sometimes, though, you see the accomplished coach who has previously won the award as one of the betting favorites. Take the incoming New England Patriots head coach, Mike Vrabel, for example. He won the trophy in 2021 when he took the Tennessee Titans to a solid but modest 12-5 record.

You probably can infer why he is a betting favorite this year, while coaches like Andy Reid, John Harbaugh, and Nick Sirianni sit at the bottom. It’s because Vrabel is now in a new situation, particularly a dire one, as the Pats have struggled mightily since the exit of the GOAT Tom Brady.

To win the award, you don't need to be the savior. You certainly need to look like you saved the season, though. Look at Sirianni. He led one of the best teams ever to a Super Bowl win, but with a legendary offensive line and two excellent coordinators, his job "appeared" to be easy. More on that in a moment.

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Betting Odds to Win 2025 NFL Coach of the Year

Ben Johnson: +600

Mike Vrabel: +1000

Liam Coen: +1250

Pete Carroll: +1500

Dave Canales: +1500

Mike Macdonald: +1600

Jim Harbaugh: +2000

Jonathan Gannon: +2000

Aaron Glenn: +2200

Shane Steichen: +2500

Sean Payton: +2500

Matt Lafleur: +2500

Kellen Moore:  +3000

Raheem Morris: +3000

Brian Schottenheimer: +3000

Brian Daboll: +3000

Kyle Shanahan: +3000

Sean McVay: +3300

Mike McDaniel: +3500

Mike Tomlin:+4000

Brian Callahan: +4000

Dan Campbell: +4000

Zac Taylor: +5000

Demeco Ryans: +5000

Kevin Stefanski: +5000

Dan Quinn: +5000

Todd Bowles: +5000

Sean McDermott: +5000

Kevin O’Connell: +5000

John Harbaugh: +7500

Andy Reid: +7500

Nick Sirianni: +7500

Best Bets to Win NFL Coach of the Year

Ben Johnson: +600

I really didn't want to put any first-year head coaches on this list, much less the betting favorite. However, I absolutely adore the situation Ben Johnson is walking into in the Windy City. There wasn't a bigger mess, especially down the stretch last year, than the Chicago Bears.

They have one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league and a defensive mastermind in Dennis Allen to lead a stellar unit. Allen was a complete disaster as the head coach in New Orleans, but that's okay. Now, he knows to stay in his lane. Therefore, I expect the best from him as he returns to his role of defensive coordinator.

From there, all we need is Johnson to replicate a bit of the success he had in Detroit. Also, he doesn't appear to be such a wildman as Campbell. So, he learned how to motivate and manage, as well as what not to do.

There are plenty of good reasons why Johnson is the betting favorite.

Mike Vrabel: +1000

I hope I'm not just being a fanboy here, as I've always disliked the Pats and the Titans are, eh, but Vrabel just rubs me the right way. He seems like a real football coach, a man's man, kinda like Dan Campbell, but less emotional and a better decision maker.

I hear a lot of people downplaying his success in Tennessee, but I couldn’t disagree more. When I heard the team wasn’t re-signing him, I was shocked, but when the Pats’ coaching job rumors started to swirl, it made sense.

He certainly has never been the problem in Nashville. It's a small market team with a small-minded front office. The best things they ever did were sign him and draft Derrick Henry, but I digress.

What hurts Vrabel's chances this season is the fact that he has won the award previously, but if Kevin Stefanski can win it twice in four years, as recently as he did with the same team, Vrabel can for sure make it happen with the Patriots.

The Patriot way is returning to New England. They tried to keep it up after Belichick’s exit last season, but Jerod Mayo didn’t appear to be the guy. In his defense, he only got one full season to try.

I love the potential for Drake Maye to become an elite quarterback in this league. He showed flashes of greatness last year. Also, Mike didn’t bring an all-star team of coordinators and coaches to help him, or at least no big names.

In a way, this is a popularity contest, and Vrabel is loved and respected by almost everyone in the business.

Nick Sirianni: +7500

We mentioned Sirianni in the opener, and I didn't expect to see his name as one of the betting favorites, but my word, how on earth is he at the very bottom?!

The guy just won a Super Bowl and pretty easily. He had Kellen Moore coordinating his offense with a legend of an o-line. Vic Fangio held down the D. The team was and is completely stacked.

If the Eagles can dominate again, it'll be quite difficult to ignore the guy altogether, and at 75-1, we don't need a sure thing. The team I watched in the Super Bowl was very good. They didn't lose a ton of pieces, either.

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