I know most people think the race is down to Campbell and O’Connell and the winner this week could take the award.
Here are the current odds in Vegas.
2024-25 NFL Coach of the Year odds:
Kevin O’Connell, Vikings: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Dan Campbell, Lions: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Andy Reid, Chiefs: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Dan Quinn, Commanders: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
As you can see Kevin O’Connell is the odds on favorite but if the Lions sweep them it might be hard to give him the nod.
So who do you think wins it and what’s your argument for that coach?
FYI - Brad Homes won NFL executive of the year last year so I think it’s highly unlikely he would win it again but early polls seem to have Holmes in the lead. The last time it was won back to back. Was 1995/1996 when Bill Polian won it.
Not saying O’Connell has done a bad job, but it’s not like Darnold is some scrub. He was the number three overall pick for a reason. Look at the losses on the defensive side of the ball for the Lions. Look at the tougher schedule. Look at 8 - 0 on the road. I believe it will come down to Sunday, but I find it hard to think that Dan shouldn’t have won it already. Would the Vikings be 14 - 2 with 16 defensive players on IR? Highly doubt it.
Lions went 3 - 0 during the 3 games in 12 days stretch of Nov 17 - Nov 28.
Did the Vikings have any 3 games in 12 days scheduling? Nope, they had 3 games in 15 days and went 1-2 during that stretch.
How many off schedule prime time games have the Lions had that Dan had to deal with. This is brutal for a team that is also fighting injuries and having to bring in new players.
Campbell should be the clear cut winner in my mind.
I thought Campbell deserved it in 2022. He turned that team around and it was amazing to watch. He needs a makeup call. I think a lot of credit should go to O’Connell, but this should be Dan’s year and O’Connell can get his own makeup call.
I think if somehow Dan Campbell doesn’t end up with a coach of the year award after bringing a franchise like Detroit from a perennial gutter dweller to Super Bowl contender, SB favorite without the rash of injuries, somehow that would be a travesty.
O’Connel has done a great job but the Vikings were not even close to to train wreck Detroit was when Dan started.
Somewhere Dan needs recognition. I guess maybe he and his team will just have to take it in the form of the Lombardi Trophy.
Honestly both have legitimate reasons to win the award.
Kevin for what he has done with a team not many predicted would have success.
Dan for doing what his team was predicted to do against 1st place schedule and with injuries piling up.
IMO Coach of the year comes down to prospective. If you believe taking a QB the Media had given up on and him leading a team to the playoffs is the most impressive, KOC gets the award.
On the otherhand if you believe that taking a team that the media and fans had given up on to the Superbowl, then MCDC takes the award. As Fans of the team that was given up on we do have a biased opinion. The voters opinions of which is better is yet to be seen.
The Lions are where many expected them to be…one of the better teams in the NFL. No one saw the Vikings winning 14 games and being in contention for the #1seed in the NFC.
From a record standpoint, I agree with you. But when everyone was expecting the Lions to be at the top of the heap in the NFC North, they did not foresee nearly 20 players on the IR. I think Minnesota had the squad to win 11 or 12 games no matter who the quarterback was as long as he was semi competent. I find it more impressive to pull six guys off the street and have them play significant roles in a big game within a week than it is to resurrect the career of a still young quarterback, who was the third overall pick in the draft. Similar to Detroit, I think Minnesota has a good system for quarterbacks. Darnold just had to go in and not ■■■■ it up. Dan literally had to pull guys off their couch and other teams practice squads and get them up to speed within days. To me, that’s real coaching.
I am of the mindset that Campbell did deserve the award in 2022, but I understood him not getting it after Kevin Stefanski dragged the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs playing 5 different QB’s. We did miss the playoffs after all, so I get that.
This year should be Dan Campbell’s year to win Coach of the Year. He has done everything you can ask for, and we can list all of the reasons supporting him winning the award. I’ll be dead honest though, and say pretty much every one of those reasons you can make the same argument for O’Connell. Vikings have had just as many high level injuries, had a player die in the offseason, they were picked to be last in the division, etc. Yes, the Lions had a much tougher SOS, and that’s a big qualifier. However, the Vikings can only play who is on their schedule. Andy Reid is still on the list and the Chiefs got whipped by the only truly good team they played this year.
I am good with this game being the deciding factor for Coach of the Year.
Darnold wasn’t even brought in to be the starter and regardless…NO ONE had the Vikings in the position that they are in right now. All the nice things you are saying now about Darnold no one else was saying, not even you. This is totally hindsight. I have said all along that KOC is one oft the better QB coaches in the NFL and even I didn’t see this. Sure DC deserves consideration because of the injuries that he has endured during the course of the season, but the Vikings were picked no higher than 3rd in the division by almost all publications.
Call it a tie and give it to both of them. I remember 1 year Manning and McNair shared the MVP trophy… or they could have a cage match and whoever comes out alive wins.
