NFL Coach of the Year Race Heats Up: Top Contenders

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00:00Matt LaFleur. I mean, again, he might clinch this win if he gets a second win today with

00:07Malik Willis. I mean, he might be coach of the decade, quite frankly. But what you really

00:11have here are some early pullaways, maybe not the right phrase, but there's some separation,

00:19I think, being created at the top here. Jim Harbaugh is your favorite. Mike McDonald and

00:24Kevin O'Connell round out that top three. Mike Tomlin checks in with the fourth odds.

00:30Some of these guys are going head to head here. I'll shoot it to you first, Donnie.

00:33What are your early takeaways from this coach of the year market? I mean, it's always funny

00:37to me because I like to start out and say, well, Donnie, who's your favorite coach or

00:41who is the best overall coach in the NFL? Oh, it's Andy Reid. What's he, plus 250, plus

00:45three to one? No, he's 55 to one because apparently you groom a quarterback and he's really good

00:50so they hold it against you when you have a good football team. Now, getting back to

00:53the top of the standings, I do think this is correct. Like, I love what I see out of

00:57Jim Harbaugh and I'm telling you right now, he goes into Pittsburgh today and comes away

01:01with a victory with Justin Herbert, maybe going to give it a go with a high ankle sprain

01:05and they move to three and oh. We said, you know what? What are they going to look like

01:08coming into the season? They're going to take away a lot of talent. You're going to have

01:12that foundational season. Let me put it together. Maybe at the end of the season, we'll start

01:15to play good football. They bought in right away. I absolutely agree. Jim Harbaugh should

01:19be the favorite. Yeah, and he has that recognizable name, right? Obviously winning a national

01:23championship, playing in the league, going to a Super Bowl. He has that pedigree. I'll

01:28say this in regards to some of the other names that are out there. I mean, and I'll give

01:32credit where credit is due. Dennis Allen, he gets the victory today over Philadelphia.

01:38I mean, three and oh, and somehow, some way he can lead this team to a 13 or number one

01:44seed, a 13 win season and number one seed. He's deserving. But again, LeFleur is similar

01:50to Stefanski, where if Jordan Love were to miss multiple weeks, I know he's coming back

01:55next week, but he did it with Joe Flacco, right? In regards to the end of the regular

01:59season, if Love is out five, six, seven games and he's still winning, then I think he has

02:04value. Yeah, again, if you see LeFleur win again today, I think he's going to have a

02:11very real chance at this because then Jordan Love comes back, you start winning football

02:16games and you can kind of be in a good spot. I agree with Harbaugh being a deserving favorite.

02:22I think Mike McDonald's fascinating, but I think Kevin O'Connell ends up the favorite

02:26if they beat Houston today. Now, that's not necessarily the direction I'm going because

02:32sometimes when it comes to coach of the year, I'll get a little angry when I feel like a

02:36coach wins it, when his assistant deserves it. You know, now we have odds, by the way.

02:40You've seen this assistant coach of the year. Oh, we do have that? He acts the favorites

02:43right underneath. Come on now with that. We needed that market favorite for assistant

02:48coach of the year. I could only imagine the names you would throw. But what I would say

02:52though is like you mentioned Dennis Allen, but it's Clint Kubiak. It's the Clint Kubiak

02:57show all of a sudden, right? No, my point is, I think Mike McDonald's been great with

03:00the defense. There's a lot of excitement about Ryan Grubb. Ryan Flores is definitely getting

03:05hype for what he's doing in Minnesota, but Kevin O'Connell having Sam Darnold come in

03:09and look like a above average quarterback. I mean, up until this point here, that is

03:15going to be the lion's share of the credit. Not that he needs to be favored over Harbaugh's

03:20plus 650, but I mentioned this in week number one, that Minnesota, despite playing the Giants

03:25were probably my biggest week over week mover. My perception needs to change. I think O'Connell's

03:30number should be shorter than the 10 to 1 it's currently booked. No, I agree with you.

03:34And keep in mind, he had this team, what, 13 and three a few years ago before they lost

03:39to the Giants in the playoff game and to lose Kirk Cousins, you know, the main quarterback

03:45that instilled that system. It was looked at as a rebuild this year, right? Sam Darnold

03:49was a bridge gap quarterback until JJ McCarthy was ready. And now you're undefeated. If Sam

03:55Darnold can take control of this offense and they run it and they win the North, then it's

04:01deserving. Again, we have to see how this plays out. Let me ask you this, because we

04:06know the situation with Tua, right? McDaniel, if somehow, some way they just all of a sudden

04:12go on a heater with Thompson, is it worth it? Is it worth the price? Of course, it probably

04:17could be. It would be pretty astounding specifically, too, because you look at the Buffalo Bills

04:21being a good football team and now the Jets, if they end up winning that division. Absolutely.

04:24But let me ask you this question, too. Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings. Yeah. If they

04:28have a good season, winning a good season is a challenge for the division. Let's just

04:31say they lose out by a game. But Darnold is very good. What are they doing next year?

04:36It's tough, I think. Is that another, like, is that, okay, young kid, you didn't have

04:40your rookie year, you'll be your rookie year again next year. Is it like Flacco? But he's

04:43younger than Flacco. And he comes with pedigree. It wasn't as like, oh, Darnold was a seventh

04:47round draft pick. Like, no, he was a top draft pick. I do think if you are Minnesota, considering

04:51he's coming off the injury. Right, sure. You're next year. Why wouldn't you? Why would you

04:55rush him if you are competent this year with Sam Darnold? And you guys know I'm always super

04:59low on Darnold, but I don't see a reason to rush and rip it then if you are the Minnesota Vikings.

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