NFC head coach emerges as clear favorite to win 2026 NFL COY award
The 2026 NFL season will present plenty of news. 10 teams changed head coaches after a tumultuous 2025 campaign, and everybody’s waiting to see who will make the strongest impact on their new teams. Some additions generated high expectations, such as John Harbaugh signing with the New York Giants, Klint Kubiak replacing Pete Carroll in Las Vegas and Mike LaFleur taking over the Arizona Cardinals.
On the other hand, others arrived in complex situations that will require a lot of work to fix. Meanwhile, oddsmakers predicted which coaches would be in the mix to win awards. MORE: Broncos’ J.
K. Dobbins sends warning message to NFL defenses The 2026 Coach of the Year award has a clear favorite, and it is a newcomer. Pro Football Talk reports that John Harbaugh is the clear favorite to bag the award.
He sits atop with +500 odds, with nobody coming close. Ironically, the man the Baltimore Ravens signed to replace him, Jesse Minter, sits second on the list (+800). John Harbaugh poses after the press conference announcing his hiring as the next New York Giants head coach at Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images Robert Saleh of the Tennessee Titans sits third (+1000) while three coaches have the same odds (+1200), Saints’ Kellen Moore, Bills’ Joe Brady and Steelers’ Mike McCarthy. Noticeably, the only coach with more than one year on the job is Moore. The rest will start a new journey in 2026.