Sean McVay has been regarded as one of the best coaches in football since he was hired by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. He’s taken the Rams to two Super Bowls, winning one of them, and finishing with at least nine wins in six of his seven seasons.
Despite his reputation as being an outstanding head coach, McVay rarely gets any love for the annual Coach of the Year award. He won it in 2017 but he’s usually not among the favorites to win it for a second time.
Even last year when he led the second-youngest team in the NFL to the playoffs despite starting the year 3-6, McVay only finished sixth in Coach of the Year voting. Many would argue it was his best coaching job in his seven seasons.
Heading into the 2024 campaign, McVay has the ninth-best odds to win the award. At BetMGM, he’s +1800 to win it, which means a $100 bet would win $1,800.
The nine coaches ahead of him are as follows.
- Jim Harbaugh: +550
- Matt LaFleur: +800
- Raheem Morris: +1000
- Shane Steichen: +1400
- Robert Saleh: +1400
- DeMeco Ryans: +1400
- Mike Macdonald: +1600
It’s easy to see why Harbaugh, Morris, Steichen, Ryans and Macdonald have shorter odds than McVay. They’re all in either their first or second year with their teams, so that helps their chances. However, LaFleur is in a similar spot as McVay in that he has a very young team that had low expectations last year, but still made the playoffs. Saleh’s Jets should bounce back with Aaron Rodgers returning but one could argue McVay’s odds should still be shorter than Saleh’s.
It’ll take at least a 10-win season by Los Angeles for McVay to have any chance, and a division title over the 49ers would go a long way. Regardless of whether he wins, though, McVay is still a top-five coach in the league.