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The NFL Coach of the Year Award is a very prestigious award, and the competition this year is fierce. What complicates matters is that some new arrivals have achieved a lot with franchises after not much being expected. They are up against the teams that have played their best throughout the season.
Sometimes, it's hard to work out how good a coach is, especially in a talented team. That is part of what this award is all about.
The NFL revealed the finalists on Jan. 25. The Coach of the Year award will be presented at the NFL Honors program on Thursday.
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll is the only rookie head coach with top-six betting odds. Daboll was the subject of our attention after guiding the Giants to a regular-season record of 9-7-1 and an appearance in the NFC playoffs' divisional round.
The NFL Coach of the Year Award is one that Daboll deserves to get. The Giants were predicted to have seven victories this season and exceeded that total by two games. Plus, making the playoffs a significant improvement. In their first seasons, similar achievements brought Kevin Stefanski, Sean McVay and Matt Nagy the prize.
Here are the five coaches in the running for the award.
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have a roster that is tremendously deep, which might work against Kyle Shanahan. However, their injuries at quarterback and the emergence of rookie Brock Purdy most certainly put Shanahan in the top bracket of coaches.
Shanahan is known as one of the craftiest head coaches around, and his offensive scheme often shows that. Getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers quickly and keeping defenses guessing is a major part of why he is a contender for this award. The 49ers are a strong team and very well coached.
San Francisco finished with the second-best record in the NFC despite going through three starting quarterbacks due to injuries. Without the injury to Purdy in the NFC championship game, the 49ers might have staked a claim for the Super Bowl. As it is, they lost, but still had a very positive 2022 season.
Sean McDermott: Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills continued to perform admirably, winning the AFC East for a third consecutive season. Before their Week 17 game against the Bengals was postponed, they were on track to earn the top seed in the AFC. McDermott will consistently be a contender for Coach of the Year as long as he is teamed with quarterback Josh Allen.
In Buffalo, where McDermott served as head coach, which had generally failed during the 2000s and 2010s, has improved. In his first season, he led the Bills to their first postseason appearance since 1999, breaking the longest-running playoff drought in the four major North American sports.
McDermott helped the Bills win a playoff game for the first time since 1995, clinch their division and qualify for the AFC championship game for the first time since 1993 in the 2020 campaign.
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Winning and losing provide a simple metric for proving Daboll's point. The Giants had a miserable two-year run under Joe Judge in which they ended 4-13. Daboll led the Giants to a 9-7-1 record in his first season, undoubtedly assisting Daniel Jones in receiving a sizable salary.
The New York Giants played their first playoff game since 2016. Daboll has saved this team after it spent several seasons in last place. He help the Giants win their first playoff game since beating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2011,
Daboll was named the 20th coach of the New York Giants on Jan. 28, 2022. Daboll's Giants opened the season 7-2, which was their best start in 10 years. They defeated the Indianapolis Colts 38-10 on Jan. 1, earning their first postseason berth since 2016.
Doug Pederson: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars' 3-14 record from a dismal season was led by Urban Meyer a year ago. After hiring Pederson, Jacksonville swiftly improved, going 9-8 and winning the AFC South.
On Feb. 4, 2022, Pederson was named the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24-0 in Week 2 to give Pederson his first victory as coach of the team.
The Jacksonville Jaguars lost their wild-card game against the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 thanks to a field goal by Riley Patterson with three seconds left.
Nick Sirianni: Philadelphia Eagles
Despite losing quarterback Jalen Hurts in two games, the Eagles concluded the season tied with the Chiefs for the best record in the NFL.
Following Doug Pederson's dismissal as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Sirianni was hired on Jan. 24, 2021. The 2022 Eagles finished the regular season with a 14-3 record, winning the NFC East and getting a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
After defeating the New York Giants 38-7 in the divisional round of the playoffs and the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC championship game, Sirianni guided the Eagles to their fourth Super Bowl in team history.
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