The NFL season is almost upon us! If you haven’t already started placing those NFL futures bets, now is as good a time as any to get started. The NFL Coach of the Year award has trended towards being awarded to a coach who turns a team around or finishes well above expectations. Will that trend continue, and who do the odds suggest we should bet on? Let’s take a look at the 2025 NFL Best Bets: Coach of the Year odds, trends, and past winners.
Kevin O’Connell grabbed the award last season after losing his starting quarterback from the previous season (Kirk Cousins), losing his starting quarterback drafted in the first round (JJ McCarthy), and using the retread Sam Darnold to lead the Vikings to a 14-3 record.
2025 NFL Best Bets: Coach of the Year Odds, Trends, and Past Winners
Past Winners Over the Last 10 Years
2015 Ron Rivera
2016 Jason Garrett
2017 Sean McVay
2018 Matt Nagy
2019 John Harbaugh
2020 Kevin Stefanski
2021 Mike Vrabel
2022 Brain Daboll
2023 Kevin Stefanski
2024 Kevin O’Connell
2025 NFL Best Bets: Coach of the Year Odds, Trends, and Past Winners
2025 COTY Odds
Ben Johnson +650
Mike Vrabel +750
Liam Coen +1000
Aaron Glenn +1000
Mike Macdonald +1300
Pete Carroll +1400
Dave Canales +1400
Kyle Shanahan +2000
Jim Harbaugh +2000
Sean Payton +2000
Jonathan Gannon +2000
Dan Campbell +2200
Matt LaFleur +2200
Shane Steichen +2700
Brian Callahan +2700
Brian Schottenheimer +2700
Sean McVay +2700
Raheem Morris +3000
Kellen Moore +3000
Mike Tomlin +3000
Brian Daboll +3000
Mike McDaniel +3000
Dan Quinn +4000
Kevin Stefanski +4500
Zac Taylor +5000
Sean McDermott +5000
Kevin O’Connell +5000
Todd Bowles +5000
DeMeco Ryans +5000
Andy Reid +7500
Nick Sirianni +7500
John Harbaugh +7500
2025 NFL Best Bets: Coach of the Year Odds, Trends, and Past Winners
Liam Coen (+1000)
The favorites for this award can be tricky to pick from; guys like Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel are really expected to turn those teams around. So, it would take even more for them to impress enough to win the award. Liam Coen is a guy I like at 10:1. Expectations for the Jaguars aren’t high; they rarely are. But he’s a good offensive mind, and he’s set up with potential for a strong and explosive team.
Can he do with Trevor Lawrence what he did with Baker Mayfield last season? Brian Thomas Jr is back for year two after a stellar rookie season. The team traded up for the explosive Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. Trading away a first-round pick, a move that suggests they feel they are in the mix this season. After winning just four games last year, if they suddenly win a lot of games and head to the playoffs, Coen could win this award.
Brian Daboll (+3000)
Daboll already won this award in 2022 after taking a four-win team to 9-7 and a playoff appearance. Daboll comes in as one of the coaches with the hottest seats in the league. He could be fired early in the season if things fall apart. But if he can get things turned around, at 30/1, he’s a mid-range odds guy worth betting on.
While we don’t know who will be playing quarterback, it’s expected that it’ll be Russell Wilson. If it’s not Wilson, that means rookie Jaxson Dart is looking really good. Either way, it’s a big-time upgrade over what they’ve had the last few years. Their front seven on defense is ranked #4 overall by Warren Sharp, and if the defensive secondary can step up, this team might be decent. If you can go from low expectations and the hot seat to competing for the playoffs, that’s a way you could win this award.
DeMeco Ryans (+5000)
The longshots are also hard to bet on. Andy Reid is obviously one of the best coaches in the league, and consistently has one of the best teams. But, like Bill Belichick, the best coaches rarely win this award. Someone like Ryans could go the route of Mike Vrabel from a few years ago. When Vrabel took the Titans to a surprising No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. The Texans are expected to be good, but if they take that next step to the top and we’re lacking the feel-good turnaround story, at 50/1. Why not?
