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Chiefs’ Andy Reid Favored to Win 2018 NFL Coach of the Year

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in NFL Football

Updated Jan 6, 2023 · 6:36 AM PST

Andy Reid Kansas City Chiefs
Andy Reid has the Kansas City Chiefs off to an 8-1 start in the 2018 NFL season. Photo by Jeffrey Beall (Wiki Commons) [CC License]
  • Oddsmakers list Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid as favorite to be NFL Coach of the Year
  • Reid moved to No. 8 on the NFL’s all-time wins list with Sunday’s 37-21 win over Cleveland
  • Reid won the award in 2002 while coaching the Philadelphia Eagles

There are a growing number of football people who believe that this will finally be the year that the Kansas City Chiefs get it done, and that also means it will finally be the year that Andy Reid gets it done.

Oddsmakers are certainly buying into the hype. They’ve listed Reid as the +125 favorite to be named the 2018 NFL coach of the year.

Odds to Win 2018 NFL Coach of the Year

Player Team Odds to win 2018 NFL coach of the year
Andy Reid KC +125
Sean McVay LAR +250
Matt Nagy CHI +400
Adam Gase MIA +400
Bill O’Brien HOU +500
Sean Payton NO +500
Ron Rivera CAR +600
FIELD +600

Reid was named NFL coach of the year in 2002 when he was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, following a 12-4 regular season record.

Will Andy Stay Dandy?

Betting on Reid the further along you get into the NFL season has rarely proven to be a profitable strategy, though. Take last season, for instance.

The 2017 Chiefs also bolted from the gate impressively, opening 5-0. Then they lost six of their next seven before rallying to go 10-6 and win the AFC West.

2017 Chiefs First 8 vs Last 8

First 8 Games
VS
Last 8 Games
6-2 Record 4-4
29.5 Points per game 22.3
377.8 Yards per game 373.0
122.7 Rushing yards per game 115.1
255.1 Passing yards per game 257.8

Of course, that was followed by what’s become almost an annual ritual in Kansas City, a Chiefs first-round playoff exit.

Moving On Up the Coaching Ranks

Kansas City’s victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns was the 202nd of Reid’s NFL career, moving him past Dan Reeves into eighth spot on the all-time list. But  Reeves, unlike Reid, won the Super Bowl.

Next up in Reid’s sights is another former Chiefs coach who also struggled to win the big game, Marty Schottenheimer at 205 wins.

Getting A Reid On The Competition

To win NFL coach of the year honors, Reid will need to overcome history. No Chiefs coach has ever won the award.

Looking at the competition, you have to give props to Chicago’s Matt Nagy.

The first-year NFL head coach has the 5-3 Bears atop the NFC North Division. Then there are a couple of guys named Sean that merit serious consideration.

Sean McVay is the reigning NFL coach of the year and he had his Los Angeles Rams situated as the last unbeaten team in the NFL this season, and as Super Bowl 53 favorites – he also opened as the favorite to win Coach of the Year honors this year.

But there have been just three back-to-back winners of NFL coach of the year: Joe Gibbs (1982-83), Don Shula (1967-68) and Allie Sherman (1961-62).

The Rams were 8-0 until last weekend, when they were defeated by Sean Payton’s New Orleans Saints. The Saints are 7-1 and have won seven in a row. Payton was NFL coach of the year in 2006, and if Reid does his patented second-half swoon, he’ll lose the award to Payton.

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