Last year in this space we strongly backed DeMeco Ryans to eventually win Coach of the Year, putting a full unit on him at +2000 odds. No one finished with more points once votes were tallied, and yet Ryans did not cash in for us. Why? Because Kevin Stefanski won a tiebreaker, garnering one more first-place vote than Ryans for his work leading the Browns to the playoffs with an 11-6 record despite numerous key injuries on his roster that resulted in five different QBs starting for Cleveland. The voters were so impressed by the Browns' accomplishments that they awarded the team Coach of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year despite arguably more deserving candidates existing in all three races.

It was Stefanski's second Coach of the Year award in his four years at the helm of the Browns, winning by a much bigger margin in his first year coaching the team. He's the first repeat winner since 2012-15, when Ron Rivera and Bruce Arians traded the award back and forth for four years. Only Don Shula, Chuck Knox and Bill Belichick have won the award more than twice, so Stefanski could join elite company if he manages to win it again at any point in his career. However, he's the longest of shots for 2024 with the market expecting voters to shy away from backing him two years in a row.

I'll break down the fields for Coach of the Year below and identify who I think makes the most sense to back, including some longshots I think could be worth small-sized plays. But first, let's look at the full list of odds.

2024 Coach of the Year odds

Which favorites are worth playing to win Coach of the Year, and which should be faded? And which candidates make for the best values to take home the award? ... Join SportsLine right now to see NFL Coach of the Year futures betting strategy from SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert!