Love him or hate him, Tom Brady is impacting the betting odds on the 2020 NFL Coach of the Year. Oddsmakers at DraftKings pegged Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians co-favorites at 12/1 odds to win the NFL Coach of the Year award. After two decades with the New England Patriots, Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
The future of the Patriots and Bucs will ride on how each coach handles the departure/arrival of Brady, the so-called greatest quarterback of all time. Can Belichick win without Brady? If the Bucs vastly improve with the addition of Brady, Arians will gain an edge in Coach of the Year voting.
The Patriots went 12-4 last season and were tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the second-best record in the AFC. The Pats were upset by the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs, which officially ended the Brady and Belichick empire in New England.
2020 NFL COACH OF THE YEAR ODDS
Bruce Arians +1200
Bill Belichick +1200
Mike McCarthy +1300
Kyle Shanahan +1600
Kevin Stefanski +1800
Frank Reich +2000
Brian Flores +2000
Mike Vrabel +2000
Sean McDermott +2000
Sean McVay +2500
Kliff Kingsbury +2500
After finally getting a head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals in 2013, long-time assistant coach and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians retired after five seasons with the Cards. The Tampa Bay Bucs persuaded Arians to come out of retirement to coach the team last season.
The Bucs were 7-9 in Arians’ first season with the team. The defensively-challenged Bucs struggled at home with a 2-6 record, but the Bucs boasted the top passing offense in the league, averaging 302.8 yards per game. The high-octane Bucs were tied for the third-highest scoring team in the NFL, averaging 28.6 points per game.
Arians won the NFL Coach of the Year in 2012 when he acted as interim coach with the Indianapolis Colts when Chuck Pagano stepped aside due to cancer treatments.
Hangovers, Fading Empires, Fresh Starts, and Vegas Baby
John Harbaugh won the 2019 NFL Coach of the Year during a remarkable season in which the Baltimore Ravens went 12-4, and established themselves as the new threat on the East Coast. He’s 20/1 odds to win the award in back-to-back years.
The frosty relationship between Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers ended McCarthy’s reign in Green Bay. After a year off, McCarthy returned to the sidelines after Jerry Jones finally fired Jason Garrett. McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl with the 2010 Packers, enters Jerry World as one of the favorites to win Coach of the Year at 13/1 odds.
COACH OF THE YEAR ODDS – EX-SUPER BOWL WINNERS
Mike McCarthy +1300
Sean Payton +2000
John Harbaugh +2000
Andy Reid +2000
Mike Tomlin +2500
Doug Pederson +2800
Pete Carroll +2800
Jon Gruden +4000
Sean Payton guided the 2009 New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl. With Drew Brees’ retirement looming, this might be Payton’s last shot at winning a second title with Brees.
Oddsmakers set Andy Reid at 20/1 odds to win Coach of the Year. He won it once with the Eagles nearly 20 years ago. Reid and Kansas City will face the challenge of fading a dreaded Super Bowl hangover.
Jon Gruden has a fresh start in Las Vegas. The Raiders finally have a new stadium, so will they rise to the occasion and try to contend with the top-tier teams in the AFC like Kansas City and the Baltimore Ravens?
Coaching Long Shots
Matt Patricia made a name for himself as Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator. He finally got a shot at a head coaching job, but he chose poorly and went to the Detroit Lions. Patricia should have stayed behind with the Pats, or waited another season for a better job opening.
Ron Rivera heads into a sh-tstorm in Washington. And I’m talking about both the football team and the political climate as well. Rivera will be tasked with turning around a losing program that finally ditched its racist team nickname, but has been slow to reveal a new one. For now, Rivera is the coach of the Washington Football Team.
Matt Rhule turned around Baylor in a short time and had them competing with the top teams in the Big 12. Can he do the same with the Carolina Panthers? He has an awesome running back with Christian McCaffrey. Plus, he has the newly-signed Teddy Bridgewater, who finally gets a shot to start after a long journey and road to recovering after a gnarly knee injury.
COACH OF THE YEAR LONG SHOTS
Ron Rivera +3000
Matt Rhule +4000
Matt Patricia +4000
Bill O’Brien +4000
Adam Gase +5000
Bill O’Brien had a rough offseason and drew much of the ire from the Texans fanbase after they traded away beloved DeAndre Hopkins for RB David Johnson.
Jamal Adams let all of his followers on social media know that Adam Gase is not a good fit as head coach of the New York Jets. He didn’t exactly shock the world with that assessment. If the Jets happen to win 10 or more games, Gase won’t get any of that credit. Gase, much like Patricia, is a strong coordinator whose out of his depth as a head coach.
