Week 1 of the NFL preseason is in the books, and we still have two more weeks of games to bet on. How do you bet on the preseason is a question that’s often tossed out there. There are so many unknowns, and we don’t even know most of these players! While that is true, some coaches and teams are just better at preseason than others from a betting perspective. Let’s dive in and take a look at these NFL 2025 preseason betting trends of every head coach’s ATS record.
John Harbaugh is the undisputed GOAT when it comes to preseason betting, and he proved it again last week, improving his preseason against the spread record to 41-21 overall. Some coaches, like Andy Reid and Sean Payton, are as middle-of-the-road as you can get. Zac Taylor, on the other hand, doesn’t care about your preseason spread; he’s just here to focus on player development.
NFL 2025 Preseason Betting Trends: Every Head Coach’s ATS Record
Above Average ATS Record
John Harbaugh – Ravens 41-21
We’ll just call this the John Harbaugh group. He stands so far and above everyone else when it comes to winning percentages in the preseason, I couldn’t justify putting someone seven games above .500 with the one man who is 20 games above .500. John Harbaugh and his Baltimore Ravens have covered over 66% of his preseason games. This week, the Ravens are a short favorite, 1.5 points over the Cowboys. Making them one of my favorite bets in Week 2.
Winning Records ATS
Mike Tomlin – Steelers 37-30-1
Sean Payton – Broncos 34-33
Pete Carroll – Raiders 26-20-1
Sean McDermott – Bills 17-10
Todd Bowles – Buccaneers 14-12
Jim Harbaugh – Chargers 13-8
Sean McVay – Rams 13-11-1
Kyle Shanahan – 49ers 13-11-1
Kevin Stefanski – Browns 7-5
Mike McDaniel – Dolphins 5-4-1
Jonathan Gannon – Cardinals 4-3
Shane Steichen – Colts 4-3
Mike Macdonald – Seahawks 2-2
Aaron Glenn – Jets 1-0
Dan Cambell – Lions 7-7
Kevin O’Connell – Vikings 5-5
DeMeco Ryans – Texans 4-4
This group is the who’s who of today’s NFL coaches. Without diving too deep, it would appear that a winning record in the preseason also translates to longevity in the NFL. Andy Reid, at just under .500 on his win total, is an obvious exception. The takeaway from this group is that these coaches are more focused on building their teams and working things out than winning or covering the spreads in these games. They just happen to be good enough coaches that they’ll get you wins a little more than half the time.
Jim Harbaugh is off to a good start, but obviously has a long way to go to catch his brother. A funny note, Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan, who are often compared to each other and reside in the same division, have the exact same record, tie, and all. A couple of newer head coaches that are off to promising starts to their careers, Kevin O’Connell, Dan Campbell, and DeMeco Ryans are all at exactly .500.
Losing Records ATS
Andy Reid – Chiefs 46-49-2
Matt LaFleur – Packers 7-10
Mike Vrabel – Patriots 6-7-2
Raheem Morris – Falcons 6-10
Nick Sirianni – Eagles 5-7-1
This group has a losing record, but they aren’t far below .500. It’s an interesting group. Andy Reid is obviously one of the best coaches in the league and has been doing this for a long time. He’s basically aligned with a Mike Tomlin or Sean Payton hovering right around .500. The rest of this group is split between two established head coaches whose jobs feel very safe and two coaches on their second stint as the head man, but still trying to see where they fit with these new teams.
Below Average ATS
Dan Quinn – Commanders 7-17-1
Zac Taylor – Bengals 3-13
Brian Daboll – Giants 2-8
Brian Callahan – Titans 1-3
Ben Johnson – Lions 0-1
Brian Schottenheimer – Cowboys 0-1
Liam Cohen – Jaguars 0-1
Kellen Moore – Saints 0-1
Dave Canales – Panthers 0-4
Below average, also known as the coaches to fade! Well, a couple of them, anyways. This group is largely brand new, first or second-year coaches still establishing themselves. It is worth noting the bad starts for Dave Canales and Brian Calahan. Neither has begun their first full season + a game well.
Zac Taylor, Dan Quinn, and Brian Daboll are the three who stand out to me the most as guys to fade in the preseason. They clearly do not care at all about winning or keeping these games close. Their intentions are to focus on who is playing, why they are playing, and the position battles. They take the game flow and outcome of the game very lightly. Because they know ultimately that the outcome of preseason games is largely irrelevant. That makes our job easy when we see them on the board!
