Jim Harbaugh won a National Championship with Michigan last season and quickly took his talents to the NFL. Harbaugh was named the Los Angeles Chargers head coach on Jan. 24 and is the favorite to win the 2024-25 AP Coach of the Year award at BetMGM.
At +550, Harbaugh has the lowest odds out of the eight new coaches for next season. Here’s where everyone else stacks up:
- Jim Harbaugh +550
- Raheem Morris (ATL) +1000
- Mike Macdonald (SEA) +1600
- Dave Canales (CAR) +2000
- Jerod Mayo (NE) +2500
- Dan Quinn (WSH) +2500
- Antonio Pierce (LV) +2500
- Brian Callahan (TEN) +2800
The Favorite: Harbaugh +550
Harbaugh’s resume speaks for itself. He won a college football title and has been an NFL head coach before. Harbaugh’s had stints with the Chargers back in 2004-2006 and was most recently the head coach of San Francisco in 2011-2014. Now he gets to run the Chargers ship with a talented young quarterback in Justin Herbert. But the biggest question’s for Los Angeles are on the defensive side of the football. While the Chargers run defense was in the middle of the pack last season in terms of yards allowed per game, their passing defense was the issue. Los Angeles ranked third worst in passing yards allowed per game and they gave up over 23 points per game – 24th worst in the league. If the Chargers can clean up their defense and Herbert can take a step forward, Harbaugh to win the award at +550 is a real possibility.
Next in Line: Raheem Morris +1000
There’s a major gap between Harbaugh and the next best (odds wise) coach to win the AP Coach of the Year award next season. Raheem Morris, who Tampa Bay’s head coach from 2009-2011 takes over an Atlanta club that’s got some promise. Morris was named the Falcons head coach on Jan. 26 and went back to a team where he held a variety of roles from 2015-2020. The biggest question mark for Morris and Atlanta is what do at the quarterback position. There’s steam that free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins is planning to move his family to Atlanta, according to ProFootballTalk.
We're picking up very credible indications that Kirk Cousins is planning a potential move of his family from Minnesota to Atlanta. https://t.co/ZSlTq9tnMc
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 5, 2024
If Morris was able to get Cousins then I think betting on him to win the award next season is worth a shot. The Falcons offense has the weapons with second-year running back Bijan Robinson leading the way.
The Longshots: Mike Macdonald +1600, Antonio Pierce +2500
What I like about the thought of Mike Macdonald winning the AP Coach of the Year award is that he knows what he has under center. Geno Smith has thrown 50 touchdown passes over his last two season with the Seahawks and Seattle has seemed to rejuvenate his career. However, Seattle is just two games above .500 (18-16) over the last two regular seasons.
Now for the second longest long shot on the betting board. Antonio Pierce got some experience as a head coach after being named Las Vegas interim after they let Josh McDaniels walk in late October. The Raiders roster may not be up to par compared to some of these teams that hired new coaches this offseason. But betting on a coach that’s been in the locker room already and knows his players is a positive.
The question is who will be Las Vegas’ quarterback next season. Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t work out and Aidan O’Connell wasn’t great. O’Connell threw for 2,218 yards and 12 touchdowns in 11 games last season but also had eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in his final four games of action.
The NFL Draft and free agent period will shift these odds quite a bit. However, there’s definitely some value with these odds for who will win next seasons AP Coach of the Year award. All odds provided are via BetMGM Sportsbook.