Liam Coen, Shane Steichen, and the NFL Coach of the Year race

We are just under a third of the way into the NFL season and the awards chase is taking shape.

As we enter Week 6, here is a look at some of the top candidates for the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year, presented in alphabetical order by coach name:

He’s not a sexy pick. He is a veteran head coach who has been coaching the same above average team. So, he doesn’t fit the model to a candidate for the Coach of the Year. But the Buccaneers are balling and are winning games in the last minute at an amazing rate. Bowles’ team is making plays when they have to. Plus, they’re pretty banged up. It may not be noticed much, but Bowles is doing a fantastic job.

Campbell may be past the typical stage for the Coach of the Year because the Lions are an established upper-echelon team. But there was a lot of questions about him when he lost coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head-coaching gigs this year. Some thought Campbell and the Lions would take a step back. They have not. In fact, they are arguably the league’s best team. Campbell deserves credit for that.

This is a candidate to watch. He totally fits the model of a candidate for coach of the year. He was a hot head-coaching candidate in this cycle and he is winning big right out of the gate. The Jaguars are a surprising 4-1 fresh off of wins over San Francisco and Kansas City. Coen has the Jaguars energized and has quarterback Trevor Lawrence playing with renewed confidence. Coen is priced at +370 to win the award at FanDuel Sportsbook and those odds may shrink if the winning keeps going.

It seems like Payton may have missed his window by a year. But if the Broncos can run away in the AFC West and finally end the Kansas City Chiefs’ nine-year run of division titles, Payton may get some consideration. He already has a signature win, with Sunday’s victory at Philadelphia.

The 2-2-1 Dallas Cowboys will have to win a lot more to get their first-year head coach some consideration. But he’s doing a solid job in an odd situation. Remember, Schottenheimer didn’t trade Micah Parsons. Also, Dak Prescott is playing his head off. Schottenheimer is underappreciated.

This is a name to watch. Shanahan is a high-level coach but he’s doing among his best work. The 49ers are battered, again, but they are 4-1. that win over the Rams in Week 5 was a masterclass by Shanahan.

He is the current FanDuel betting favorite to win the award at +260. That shouldn’t be a surprise. The Colts are 4-1 and look like they’re for real. A big reason for the Colts’ early season success, of course, is the stunning success of free-agent quarterback Daniel jones. He is an early MVP candidate. No one saw that coming. If Jones and the Colts keep this up, Steichen could walk away with the award.

What, Tomlin on a list for coaching praise? It has become trendy to crap on Tomlin in recent seasons because of the Steelers’ lack of postseason success. But, remember, this is a regular-season award and Tomlin has the Steelers looking good at 3-1. The Aaron Rodgers experiement is working so far and the Steelers are benefitting from the big injuries in Baltimore and Cincinnati. Some may not like it, but Tomin is doing another good job.

This shouldn’t be a surprise. Vrabel was considered a coaching prize this past hiring cycle and he was a surprise firing in Tennessee, where he won the 2021 Coach of the Year. Back with the team he won three Super Bowls with as a player, Vrabel has the talent-depleted Patriots sitting at 3-2 and are coming off an impressive win at Buffalo on Sunday night. He has a real chance to win this award again.