New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys Have 2020 Coach Of The Year Favorites

Tom Brady left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency, creating a debate regarding which team will have a better 2020 NFL season. If the latest betting odds are any indication, both teams have a very good chance of finding success this year.

Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians are co-favorites to win the 2020 AP Coach of the Year award at BetOnline. Both coaches are given 12/1 odds.

Belichick is entering his 21st season as New England’s head coach, and it’ll be his first year without Brady on the roster. The tandem engineered the greatest dynasty of the Super Bowl era, leading the Patriots to six titles and nine Super Bowl appearances over the course of two decades.

Since going 5-11 in 2000, Belichick has strung together 19 straight winning seasons. The Patriots have won 11 straight AFC East titles with more than 10 victories in 10 straight years. New England is 13-6 in its last 19 games without Brady under center.

Belichick was named Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010.

Arians has been Tampa Bay’s head coach for only one year. The Buccaneers went 7-9 in 2019, missing the playoffs for the 12th straight season.

Tampa Bay did improve from consecutive five-win seasons in 2017 and 2018. The Bucs ranked third in total offense and 15th in total defense last year, undone in large part due to Jameis Winston’s league-leading 30 interceptions. The team’s win total could improve significantly if Brady can still perform better than most quarterbacks.

Arians went 49-30-1 as the Arizona Cardinals head coach from 2013-2017. He never lost more than eight games in a season and made one trip to the NFC Championship Game.

Arians was the 2012 Coach of the Year when he went 9-3 as the Indianapolis Colts’ interim head coach. He also won the award with Arizona in 2014.

New Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is third with 14/1 odds to win the award. He went 125-77-2 with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2018, winning Super Bowl XLV in 2011. The Cowboys are coming off an 8-8 season.

Colts head coach Frank Reich is fourth with 16/1 odds to be named Coach of the Year. It’s a four-way tie at 18/1 with Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott and Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has 25/1 odds after winning the award last year. Baltimore led the NFL in 2019 with a 14-2 record.