With one week remaining in the regular season, a two-way race is developing in the NFL Coach of the Year battle. Zac Taylor (+150 odds) from the Cincinnati Bengals and Matt LaFleur (+175 odds) of the Green Bay Packers are the top two favorites to win Coach of the Year, according to an update from DraftKings.
At the beginning of December, Bill Belichick emerged as the betting favorite to win the Coach of the Year at +300 odds after the New England Patriots unleashed a seven-game winning streak. Belichick and the Pats have since cooled off a bit after back-to-back losses against key AFC playoff teams. You can back Belichick right now at +2000 odds to win his fourth Coach of the Year award.
| 2021 NFL Coach of the Year Odds |
| Now | Week 14 | |
| Zac Taylor | +150 | +800 |
| Matt LaFleur | +175 | +600 |
| Mike Vrabel | +350 | +800 |
| Bill Belichick | +2000 | +300 |
| Nick Sirianni | +3500 | +5000 |
| Sean McVay | +4000 | +200 |
| Kliff Kingsbury | +5000 | +400 |
| Mike McCarthy | +5000 | +1600 |
| Frank Reich | +5000 | +2500 |
| Brandon Staley | +8000 | +1800 |
Just five weeks ago, Kliff Kingsbury from the Arizona Cardinals was second on the board behind Belichick at +400 odds to win Coach of the Year. After a late-season hiccup and an injury to Kyler Murray, the Cards are trying to correct their course heading into the postseason. Since then, Kingsbury saw his odds plummet to +5000.
Zac Taylor +150
The Cincinnati Bengals locked up a playoff spot by winning the AFC North division title after they upset the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17. The Bengals also guaranteed themselves a home game in the wild-card round by winning the division.
Taylor led the Bengals to a 10-6 record with one more game remaining against the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals struggled last season after quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a season-ending knee injury. They were a 4-11-1 team last season, so it’s been an impressive leap from last season to this season.
“Really proud of the position our guys put us in with one week left to play,” said Taylor. “Just couldn’t be prouder of not only players, but the coaches who have gone through this with us over the last three years. It’s been hard when you’re building something the right way and building something you believe in. Just really proud of the job that they’ve done to keep up with it.”
With 10 wins from Taylor, only the Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) and Tennessee Titans (11-5) won more games than the Bengals this season.
Matt LaFleur +175
In his first three seasons as a head coach, Matt LaFleur won at least 13 games with the Green Bay Packers. He went 13-3 in his first two seasons with the Packers, who are 13-3 through Week 17 with one more game remaining. Under LaFleur, the Packers won three-straight division titles. LaFleur guided the Packers to consecutive trips to the NFC Championship game, but failed to advance to the Super Bowl.
This is supposedly Aaron Rodgers’ last season in Green Bay, so this might be the last legit chance that LaFleur gets to win a Super Bowl. The Packers are the current favorites to win Super Bowl 56 at +400 odds.
So how much of the Packers’ success is contributed to LaFleur? Regardless of what you think of Rodgers, he flourished in his last three seasons under LaFleur after his relationship deteriorated with former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. At the least, LaFleur got out of the way and let Rodgers do his thing.
