My Favorites for NFL Coach of the Year in 2021- From the 1 Yard

“Coaches who can draw the plays on a blackboard, there are many. Those who win are the ones who enter the minds of their players and motivate them.” -Vince Lombardi.

To tell the truth, when I began to write these lines, the theme of the text seemed much simpler: to choose the best coach of the year in the NFL, according to my criteria.

As I have thought about it, it has become increasingly difficult for me to choose a clear favorite, although at the end of the day I achieved my goal.

My criteria for Coach of the Year in the NFL

What makes a coach be considered the best Head Coach of the year in the NFL? Is it your ability to study and prepare for a match? Is it the ability they have to change their game plan according to the circumstances? Is it the ability to get the best out of your players ability? Is it having the team with the best record?

All these characteristics, without a doubt, come into consideration when choosing a candidate for coach of the year, however, for me, there are two more singularities that should have more weight when choosing our Coach of the Year. The first is that the team adopt the personality of the coach and, the other, to favor who is able to do more with lessThat is, to maximize the talent of its players in order to achieve the most important thing in sport: victory.

Therefore, and without further ado, I present my list of candidates for coach of the year and the reasons for considering their candidacy:

5. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

I debated a lot with myself to decide if Brandon Staley (LA Chargers) belonged in this position, however, the change that occurred from one year to another with the Los Angeles team was not as radical as it was with the Eagles. Sirianni took on a team that ended up broken in 2020, with a 4-11-1 record and with very low expectations for 2021, which were met at the start of the season.

As the season progressed, Philadelphia was improving circumstantially, to the degree that between weeks 8 and 17, they only lost a couple of games, thus sealing their pass to the postseason.

What is the great merit of Nick Sirianni? He knew how to adjust the identity of his team to play to its strengths. He understood that Jalen Hurts is not an elite quarterback and that the true identity of this team was to run the ball, to the point of finishing the season as the best running game in the league, running very effectively and thus avoiding the Ball exchanges that did so much damage at the beginning of the campaign.

Add up that running attack with a top 10 defense. And we have a team that, having won just four games the previous year, will be playing the playoffs this season.

4. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers

It is likely that many will kill me for putting Matt LaFleur in this position, even more so because his team will finish the season as the best record in the entire NFL and, because it will be his third season with a 13-3 record.

By numbers and by position, we should give the award to LaFleur, as many experts point out: “he deserves it.” However, this is not meritocracy, this is about accomplishing things that no one else does. In this area, it is where LaFleur is left to owe.

Of all the Coach of the Year candidates, Matt LaFleur has the most weapons to fight with to lead the best team in the NFL by record, the Green Bay Packers. For starters, you have QB Aaron Rodgers, who He’ll probably be named the league’s MVP (again), despite having thrown the world on top of him with his heavy off-field attitude.

In addition to Rodgers, he has Davante Adams, the best catcher in the league, and a tandem of running backs that many teams would already like, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. His team is the leader in stealing differential and turnover at +16, but it’s because Aaron Rodgers rarely throws an interception or fumble.

Where is the candidacy for LaFleur losing credibility? In 2 of the 3 games he has lost this season, Aaron Rodgers has not played. In week 1 against the Saints, he did not play due to a “tantrum” and in week 9, against the Chiefs, he was out due to COVID. If we look back at those games, we see a coach who, without his best player, is lost and is unable to come up with a winning game plan.

3. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

I dare say that 2021 was one of Bill Belichick’s best years as a coach. We are talking about a man who has dominated the league for two decades as a coach and that he has won this award three times. Despite that, what we’ve seen from Belichick this year is exceptional.

From the beginning, he changed his way of attacking the offseason and free agency. Instead of working with a minimal budget and spending only what was necessary, he realized that his team’s holes were only going to be covered by bringing in high-caliber free agents. Subsequently, he did something he never did in his career. He selected a quarterback in the first round of the draft, Mac Jones, with every desire to make him his starting quarterback from Day 1.

He got to work and managed to return to the Patriots, the DNA with which they were champions, 20 years ago. A dominant running game (eighth best in the league) that controls the clock and takes pressure off the rookie quarterback and a defense specialized in stealing the ball from the opponent (30 steals on the season).

Simply put, Bill Belichick did what he does best: Work his team to play to their strengths and expose their opponent’s weaknesses.

2. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

Losing your rookie quarterback, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, due to poor offensive line work, is not easy. Get over something like that, even less.

Zac Taylor entered 2021 with a privileged position in the Draft. The third global. With an offensive tackle prospect like Penei Sewell available after suffering a year earlier, the selection of his Bengals seemed automatic. However, Taylor decided to risk it and take catcher Ja’Marr Chase with that third pick, this, in an effort to bring out all the talent as a passer that Joe Burrow has at his disposal.

It is true, Burrow is still the most captured quarterback in the entire NFL (51 sacks), however, the change that the Bengals have had from the hand of Zac Taylor and a healthy Joe Burrow, is undeniable.

Input, and coming from the bottom of the AFC North, they achieved the divisional title – something that seemed unthinkable at the beginning of the season – and they did it sheltered by the fifth best offense in the NFL. We could say that it was all Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, however, Taylor had a lot to do with this transformation.

The clearest change was that they went from offense 29 to offense 5 in the NFL, however, it is more what they managed to do with the identity of the team. He transformed them into an ensemble that plays with an inner fire, hungry to show that they want to change the losing story of the franchise. For me, the clearest sample is the combined 147 points that Pittsburgh and Baltimore scored this season.

Taylor may not be the pick anymore sexy for Coach of the Year, but the work he has done to be considered cannot be denied.

1. Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans

If we talk about a team that adopts the style of its coach, as one of the best characteristics of a good head coach, Mike Vrabel takes the street award. However, the credit for winning the Coach of the Year award goes far beyond finishing the season as a potential first seed for the AFC.

In week 8, he was left without his best player, Derrick Henry. Despite that, his Titans did not lose their identity. Except for two weeks, in all their other games, they averaged over 90 yards per rush.

It wasn’t just Henry’s injury. He was also without his two star receivers for most of the season: AJ Brown and Julio Jones. Still, the offense managed to stay in the top 15 in the league. His defense, which seemed not to be the strong card of the team, finished as the sixth best in the NFL in points allowed, managing to steal 12 balls and sack the quarterback 41 times.

Despite having a -3 steals / turnovers differential, the team managed to win 11 games this season, thanks, in part, to tremendous third down work, where they were the 8th best team in the NFL to become third and 6th best to avoid being converted.

Of the 11 victories they achieved this season, seven were against teams that had a winning record in 2020, of which six were in the postseason. All of these achievements were achieved by Vrabel by fielding 88 different players throughout the season, due to injuries and absences from Covid-19. It’s the most in NFL history.

Yes what Mike Vrabel did as a coach this season not worthy of Head Coach of the Year, so the award has absolutely no credibility.

For you, who are the candidates and the favorite for Head Coach of the year in the NFL? We read you in the comments under this article and on our social networks.