Houston Texans first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans is one of the top Coach of the Year candidates after leading his team to a winning season and a possible playoff berth.
He’s done all of this with a first-time offensive play-caller in Bobby Slowik, a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud and one of the youngest overall rosters in the league. There have been peaks and valleys this season, but the Texans have nevertheless been one of the big surprise teams after they finished with the second-worst record in the NFL just a year ago.
Ryans isn’t the clear-cut favorite to win the award, though that may change if Houston makes the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Several other head coaches’re having similarly-successful of even more successful seasons given the respective circumstances.
Here are four other head coaches who could beat Ryans for the NFL COTY award.
Browns HC Kevin Stefanski
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is in contention for his second COTY award since he joined the team in 2020. Stefanski’s job this year has been somehow more impressive than the one in 2020 because of the injuries the Browns have endured, especially at the quarterback position. Cleveland has started four different quarterbacks on their way to locking up the No. 5 seed and will start a fifth this weekend. Even stranger is that the best of the four quarterbacks is 38-year-old Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter. He’s one of BetMGM’s favorites to win.
Colts HC Shane Steichen
Oddly enough, the Texans’ Week 18 clash with the Indianapolis Colts could also be seen as a battle for COTY between Ryans and Shane Steichen. The winner of the game goes will go to the playoffs as a first-time head coach with a roster that wasn’t perceived as a threat to even make the postseason when they were hired. Steichen has accomplished a lot with the Colts despite losing his rookie quarterback and Pro Bowl running Jonathan Taylor for most of the season, and a playoff berth would be the cherry on top to his candidacy.
Lions HC Dan Campbell
The Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL just three years into Dan Campbell’s tenure with the team. They won the NFC North for the first time in three decades and were a controversial penalty away having a shot at the No. 2 seed in the NFC. What Campbell’s done in Detroit is nothing short of incredible, and he’s considered to be the favorite to win the award by BetMGM.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel
Mike McDaniel is coaching the No. 1 offense in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has a league-best in completion percentage and passing yards. The Dolphins have a murky home/away record, but Miami can clinch the AFC East and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 18.
