Browns' Kevin Stefanski Opens as Favorite to Win 2021 NFL Coach of the Year

Now that the NFL Draft is over and the schedules have been released, it's full steam ahead to the upcoming season. When it comes to betting, the NFL Coach of the Year award odds have already hit the market at DraftKings Sportsbook, so let's take a look at the list.

Favorite: Kevin Stefanski (+1300)

Last year's Coach of the Year opens up on the oddsboard as this year's favorite to win the award. During his rookie coaching campaign, the Browns won 11 regular season games. More importantly, Cleveland won a playoff game on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team's first playoff victory in 25 years.

Roster wise, the Browns are absolutely loaded on both sides of the football and should be a Super Bowl contender this upcoming season, especially given their favorable schedule. Cleveland currently has the seventh best odds to win the Super Bowl (+1600), so Stefanski has a shot at going back-to-back if they can recreate some of last year's magic.

A word of caution though, you'd have to go back all the way to 1983 and Joe Gibbs for the last time a coach won the award in consecutive years. It will be interesting to see if the Browns can stay healthy and live up to the hype they'll have going into the season.

Rest of the Best

Sean McVay (+1400) and Kyle Shanahan (+1500) round out the top-3 favorites to win the award. Coming in behind them are coaches Sean McDermott (+1600), Frank Reich (+1600), and Brandon Staley (+1600) to finish off the upper echelon.

McVay went all-in to trade for Matthew Stafford during the offseason, but will it payoff? Can he make another Super Bowl run with a guy he hand picked? LA's roster is stacked with superstars on both sides of the football, so anything less would be disappointing.

I personally love Shanahan as a coach, so I'm just hoping his roster can stay healthy for the entire upcoming season. Easier said than done, right?

In that next tier, Id keep an eye on Staley, who is inheriting a good situation. I envision another Cleveland Browns type of scenario potentially playing out here. Cleveland's former head coach Hue Jackson was so bad that you knew the team would automatically win some games with a regime chance. With Anthony Lynn gone, there's a possibility we see the Chargers win more, as there were a ton of games the team should've won last season if they had a better coaching staff. Los Angeles has a ton of talent on this roster, and it all starts with their QB Justin Herbert, who I think is a legitimate MVP candidate.

Early Bets

A couple of longshots I like early are Ron Rivera at +2200 and Vic Fangio at +2500. Rivera had a terrific season last year with the Washington Football Team and was also worthy of the award. The team won the NFC East and made the playoffs in his first season with the team, all while overcoming cancer!

This year, they'll bring back one of the best defenses in the NFL and if the team can get improved QB play, watch out. If FitzMagic still has anything left in the tank, the WFT can make another run at the playoffs, which would help bolster Rivera's case for COY.

Fangio might be worth a sprinkle purely for the Aaron Rodgers speculation. If Rodgers does end up in Denver for future picks, the Broncos would be one of the best teams in football with their current roster.

The season is still so far away and these odds will change several more times before the opener, but it's always fun to see what the oddsmakers are thinking early.