Mike McCarthy Now Has 3rd-Best Odds to Win 2020 NFL Coach of the Year
- Mike McCarthy has joined the favorites to claim NFL Coach of the year honors
- A daunting first half to the Dallas Cowboys’ 2020 schedule is a major obstacle in McCarthy’s bid for the award
- Get all the odds and insight into McCarthy’s chances to win NFL Coach of the Year in the story below
Expectations have risen for Mike McCarthy as he gets set to kick off his first season as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Following a successful offseason that saw the Cowboys lock up the core of their talented offense, McCarthy has made steady gains in the odds to claim NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2020, and now sits third as an attractive +1400.
Odds to Win 2020 NFL Coach of the Year
| Coach | Odds |
|---|---|
| Bill Belichick | +1200 |
| Bruce Arians | +1200 |
| Mike McCarthy | +1400 |
| Frank Reich | +1600 |
| Andy Reid | +1800 |
| Kevin Stefanski | +1800 |
| Kliff Kingsbury | +1800 |
| Sean McDermott | +1800 |
| Kyle Shanahan | +2000 |
| Mike Vrabel | +2200 |
*Odds taken June 13, 2020
McCarthy, Cowboys Have Plenty to Prove in 2020
Idle since being fired from his longtime role as bench boss with the Green Bay Packers, McCarthy returns to the sidelines leading a Cowboys squad that has plenty to prove in 2020.
After a hot 3-0 start last season, the team fell flat, limping to an 8-8 record and out of playoff contention for the second time in three years. That marked the seventh time in 10 years that Dallas has failed to reach the 10-win mark, a trend that must be reversed if McCarthy is to have any chance of claim his first career Coach of the Year award.
.@RealSkipBayless: How did my Dallas Cowboys go 8-8?@DeionSanders: The problem is not Jason Garrett, who is gone, the problem is the personality, the makeup and composite of this team. pic.twitter.com/Om14wyEJlT
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) January 28, 2020
Recent winners of the award have come from teams that have topped their divisions, with the past five winners coaching teams that won an average of 13 games. However, with the co-favorites to win this season’s award, Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians, far from assured reaching that standard, the door could be open for McCarthy.
Vaunted Offense Key to Success
The Cowboys endured a lot of tough luck in 2019, with six of their eight losses coming by a single possession. And while the team’s defense could be considered mediocre at best, there is no denying the team’s impressive talent on offense, with the trio of Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper leading the attack.
Dak Prescott & Cowboys have until July 15th to agree to a new long-term contract or Prescott plays on $31.4 million franchise tag…
We’re 35 days away from the deadline…
The most recent offer for Prescott…5-yr, $175 million, $35 million per season…#CowboysNation pic.twitter.com/MOvzBUCMlP
— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) June 10, 2020
Prescott is coming off a breakthrough season, which he finished among the NFL’s leaders with career bests in pass attempts, passing yards (4902), TD passes (30), yards per pass attempt (8.2). The 26-year-old quarterback also has a lot riding on the upcoming season as he seeks a long-term extension after being slapped with the franchise tag. And both Elliott and Cooper will be aiming to pick up where they left off last season, when the star rusher and receiver each enjoyed resurgent campaigns.
Odds Shorten Following Successful Draft
But will the vaunted Cowboys’ offense be enough to decisively lift the Cowboys back to the top of the NFC East and enhance McCarthy’s chances? One indicator that it might be is the steady rise of McCarthy’s NFL Coach of the Year odds since the NFL Draft in late April, and the subsequent official release of the NFL schedule.
Hired Mike McCarthy
Re-signed Amari Cooper
Signed Gerald McCoy
Signed Dontari Poe
Signed HaHa Clinton Dix
Signed Aldon Smith
Signed Greg Zuerlein
Signed Andy DaltonDraft rounds 1-4:
1: CeeDee Lamb
2: Trevon Diggs
3: Neville Gallimore
4: Reggie Robinson, Tyler Biadasz— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) May 3, 2020
Pegged as a +2000 at the beginning of April, McCarthy saw his odds shorten to +1700 in the wake of a successful draft, in which the team landed talented wide receiver CeeDee Lamb with the 17th overall pick. The squad also placed an emphasis on defense, most notably by taking cornerback Trevon Diggs in the second round, and were widely considered one of the winners at this year’s draft.
Fast Start is Crucial
McCarthy has seen his odds shorten further since the official release of the NFL schedule. Currently heavy favorites to win OVER 9.5 games in 2020, the Cowboys will once again be looking to dominate in divisional play after going 5-1 against NFC East rivals last season, and 15-3 over the past three seasons.
The 2020 Dallas Cowboys schedule.
Which game are you most excited about? pic.twitter.com/BAXy5F8tio
— Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) May 7, 2020
But while Dallas sports the 11th most favorable schedule according to Sports Betting Dime’s NFL Strength of Schedule analysis, the team faces a challenging start to the campaign with two West Coast road dates scheduled over the first three weeks.
Daunting matchups with Cleveland, Arizona, and Pittsburgh are also featured in the first half of the season, while the second half includes dates with the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. It is likely these contests will determine the fate of both the Cowboys’ season and McCarthy’s NFL Coach of the Year chances, but at +1400, the Super Bowl-winning bench boss offers plenty of value.
Pick: Mike McCarthy (+1400)
Daniel has been writing about sports and sports betting for over 23 years. The seasoned pro has contributed to the likes of Sports Illustrated, Sportsnet, NESN, Bleacher Report, OddsShark, the Globe and Mail, and The Nation magazine.
