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Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryan argues with an official. Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

NFL futures: Coach of the Year race heating up

By Griffin Carroll | Last updated 11/14/23

Coach of the Year is an award that of course ties into a team's overall success. In that vein, there are a few success stories building quite a resume as we approach the tail end of the regular season. Two gentlemen rise above the rest when we look at the futures market for this year's winner.

The favorites

While there four coaches with odds shorter than +1000, it's seeming to us that this Coach of the Year futures market is boiling down to two men. No disrespect to Miami's Mike McDaniel (+600) or Minnesota's Kevin O'Connell (+750), but these are the names to monitor.

Dan Campbell (+150 DraftKings)

Dan Campbell has helped the Detroit Lions deliver on the hype that has been surrounding this franchise for the past two seasons. The Lions are the best team against the spread, and they currently sit at 7-2 fresh off a shootout victory over Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

With a soft end-of-season scheduling coinciding with a tough Philadelphia Eagles set of games, it's becoming a very real possibility for Detroit to secure a first-round bye.

Should Campbell lead the Lions to home-field advantage in the playoffs, it's extremely hard to imagine a world where he does not bring home this award. Detroit did not even make the postseason a year ago.

DeMeco Ryans (+300 DraftKings)

The Houston Texans have been the darlings of the NFL over the first half of the season thanks in large part to presumptive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud.

Stroud has been fantastic, leading game-winning drives in back-to-back games and elevating the lesser-known pass-catchers all around him.

Not for nothing, but an under-the-radar reason Houston has found so much success this season (currently 5-4) is because of the play of their defense. That would fall back onto DeMeco Ryans in his first season.

Should the Texans continue stacking wins and sporting the balance we're starting to expect from both sides of the ball, Houston could fight for a playoff spot in a loaded AFC. Houston already beat Jacksonville once and sit only game back of the AFC South lead.

Our choice: DeMeco Ryans (+300)

Coach of the Year is so often about expectations. Everyone expected Philadelphia and Kansas City to be good again this season, and that's why Nick Sirianni (+1600) and Andy Reid (+6000) are longshots to win this award.

No one expected this from Houston. Just a season removed from shipping out franchise QB Deshaun Watson, the Texans have rebounded quickly and seem poised to be a problem in the AFC for years to come.

If the Texans jump the Jaguars and win the AFC South, this award has DeMeco Ryans's name all over it in his first year at the helm.

Follow Griffin Carroll at griffybets.substack.com for data, trends and targets for every NFL game, plus all the off-season news you can use.

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