The NFL is all about the players and what they do on the field for an hour’s play that determines the final outcome of the game. Every game boils down to the execution at those crucial moments during the game. The players have practiced and trained week in and week out. They continue to perfect their skills and improve additional ones only to get better every passing day.
But, is it just the players that deserve all the credit? When we stop and think about this, it is easy to understand that the game of American football is equally won on the field as it is from the sidelines. It is one of the few sports that has so many specialist coaches involved in honing the best team possible. For example, there are head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators, quarterbacks coach, receivers coach, tight ends coach, linebackers coach, and many more. And to oversee it all is the one calling the shots which is the head coach.
Every year when the NFL hands out the awards for players, there are a couple of special awards for the coaches as well. And generally, the NFL Coach of the Year Award goes to one of the thirty two head coaches in the league.
How the NFL’s Coach of the Year determined
In order to determine which coach should win the NFL Coach of the Year award, the process that is followed is slightly different than that for the players. For example, players who receive their awards are judged mainly on their numbers and records which they have achieved throughout the season. If a similar technique is to be applied to coaches, then more often than not the winner would be the coach that wins the Super Bowl.
However, the Coach of the Year award is actually a bit more complex in the sense that it is handed out to that person who has significantly turned around the fortunes of a bad team from the previous year or from a short span of time.
Few news and sports organizations have been giving out this award but the one recognized by the NFL is given out by the Associated Press (AP). This award has been given out since 1957 and since 2011 the award is handed over with the rest of the NFL awards at the NFL honors ceremony.
The most number of Coach of the Year Awards has been received by the legendary coach Don Shula who has won it four times followed by Chuck Knox and Bill Belichick who have won it three times each.
List of NFL Coach of the Year winners
| Season | Coach | Team |
| 1957 | George Wilson | Detroit Lions |
| 1958 | Weeb Ewbank | Baltimore Colts |
| 1959 | Vince Lombardi | Green Bay Packers |
| 1960 | Buck Shaw | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1961 | Allie Sherman | New York Giants |
| 1962 | Allie Sherman (2) | New York Giants |
| 1963 | George Halas | Chicago Bears |
| 1964 | Don Shula | Baltimore Colts |
| 1965 | George Halas (2) | Chicago Bears |
| 1966 | Tom Landry | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1967 | George Allen Don Shula | Los Angeles Rams Baltimore Colts |
| 1968 | Don Shula | Baltimore Colts |
| 1969 | Bud Grant | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1970 | Paul Brown | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 1971 | George Allen (2) | Washington Redskins |
| 1972 | Don Shula (4) | Miami Dolphins |
| 1973 | Chuck Knox | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1974 | Don Coryell | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 1975 | Ted Marchibroda | Baltimore Colts |
| 1976 | Forrest Gregg | Cleveland Browns |
| 1977 | Red Miller | Denver Broncos |
| 1978 | Jack Patera | Seattle Seahawks |
| 1979 | Jack Pardee | Washington Redskins |
| 1980 | Chuck Knox | Buffalo Bills |
| 1981 | Bill Walsh | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1982 | Joe Gibbs | Washington Redskins |
| 1983 | Joe Gibbs (2) | Washington Redskins |
| 1984 | Chuck Knox (3) | Seattle Seahawks |
| 1985 | Mike Ditka | Chicago Bears |
| 1986 | Bill Parcells | New York Giants |
| 1987 | Jim Mora | New Orleans Saints |
| 1988 | Mike Ditka (2) | Chicago Bears |
| 1989 | Lindy Infante | Green Bay Packers |
| 1990 | Jimmy Johnson | Dallas Cowboys |
| 1991 | Wayne Fontes | Detroit Lions |
| 1992 | Bill Cowher | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1993 | Dan Reeves | New York Giants |
| 1994 | Bill Parcells (2) | New England Patriots |
| 1995 | Ray Rhodes | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1996 | Dom Capers | Carolina Panthers |
| 1997 | Jim Fassel | New York Giants |
| 1998 | Dan Reeves (2) | Atlanta Falcons |
| 1999 | Dick Vermeil | St. Louis Rams |
| 2000 | Jim Haslett | New Orleans Saints |
| 2001 | Dick Jauron | Chicago Bears |
| 2002 | Andy Reid | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 2003 | Bill Belichick | New England Patriots |
| 2004 | Marty Schottenheimer | San Diego Chargers |
| 2005 | Lovie Smith | Chicago Bears |
| 2006 | Sean Payton | New Orleans Saints |
| 2007 | Bill Belichick | New England Patriots |
| 2008 | Mike Smith | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2009 | Marvin Lewis | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2010 | Bill Belichick (3) | New England Patriots |
| 2011 | Jim Harbaugh | San Francisco 49ers |
| 2012 | Bruce Arians | Indianapolis Colts |
| 2013 | Ron Rivera | Carolina Panthers |
| 2014 | Bruce Arians (2) | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2015 | Ron Rivera (2) | Carolina Panthers |
| 2016 | Jason Garrett | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2017 | Sean McVay | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2018 | Matt Nagy | Chicago Bears |
| 2019 | John Harbaugh | Baltimore Ravens |
| 2020 | Kevin Stefanski | Cleveland Browns |
| 2021 | Mike Vrabel | Tennessee Titans |
| 2022 | Brian Daboll | New York Giants |
| 2023 | Kevin Stefanski (2) | Cleveland Browns |
FAQs
A. The NFL Coach of the Year award is given to the coach who has significantly improved a bad team in a short span of time.
A. The Associated Press started giving out an award for NFL Coach of the Year in 1957 by rewarding it to the Detroit Lions’ George Wilson.
A. The winner of the 2023 NFL Coach of the Year award is Kevin Stefanski, the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. This is his second time winning the award.
A. Don Shula is the proud recipient of four NFL Coach of the Year awards and he stands at the top spot of this list.
