2023 Coach of the Year odds (Worst to First in the NFC South)
By Josh Yourish
A year ago it was a rookie head coach, Brian Daboll who won the Coach of the Year for going 9-7-1 with Daniel Jones at quarterback and even winning a road playoff game in Minnesota. There’s a chance our coach of the year comes out of the latest crop of new coaches, Shane Steichen, Jonathan Gannon, DeMeco Ryans or even Sean Payton or Frank Reich who are old faces in new places.
However, none of those five new hires are my best bet to win the NFL Coach of the Year in 2023, so let’s get into the odds and I’ll give out my pick.
2023 Coach of the Year odds
Coach of the Year best bet
Arthur Smith’s tenure in Atlanta has been pretty low profile so far. Now, he’s showing up to camp with another new quarterback and a fresh mustache. Desmond Ridder will be the guy under center for Smith in 2023 and that’s a huge upgrade from Marcus Mariota. Not because we know that Ridder will be any good, but because we know that Mariota was awful.
The Falcons still managed to have a good offense in 2022 because of their run game and that will be even better with Bijan Robinson in the backfield. He’ll be Smith’s new Derrick Henry, except he can catch passes and embarrass linebackers like he’s done all camp. Smith is one of the league’s preeminent offensive geniuses worthy of recognition alongside the Mike McDaniels and Matt LaFluer’s of the world who are just a step below Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
What Smith did with Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee was very impressive and he’ll get some level of success out of Ridder with Robinson in the backfield and Drake London and Kyle Pitts as his top two weapons. This offense is loaded and the division is barren. The Falcons finished last in the NFC South last year and though they were actually only a single game behind the Buccaneers who won it, a worst-to-first storyline with a third-round pick in his second year at quarterback is worthy of coach of the year and I’ve already bet the Falcons to win the division a while ago.
Coach of the Year dark horse bet
Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in his 17 years as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and yet has never once been named coach of the year. He won one Super Bowl and went back to another with Ben Roethlisberger but the transition from Big Ben to the next generation took quite a few years with Ben’s elbow injury and then two seasons where he could barely throw a pass 10-yards downfield.
Last season was Tomlin’s first with a new quarterback and while it got off to a rocky start the Steelers finished the season 7-2 and Kenny Pickett went 5-0 in his final five starts. The Steelers then loaded up in the draft, grabbing Broderick Jones to bolster the offensive line in front of PIckett and Joey Porter Jr to sure up the defensive secondary. On top of that they added Keenu Benton and Darnell Washington in later rounds, and signed Isaac Seumalo in free agency.
This is the best team that Tomlin has had in Pittsburgh in years and if he can navigate them to the playoffs in a loaded AFC with a second year quarterback then Tomlin will deserve consideration for Coach of the Year. The biggest roadblock other than Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, is Tomlin’s own staff. Particularly Matt Canada who is back as offensive coordinator though it’s unclear what he’s ever done to earn the job in the first place or to keep it after last year.
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