Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has strong odds to win NFL Coach of the Year

There is a lot of uncertainty regarding the upcoming NFL season. The current COVID-19 pandemic has many things up in the air: if there will be normal training camp, when the season will start, will fans be allowed in the stadium, etc.

Assuming there is a season though, it is hard to not get excited about the potential of this year’s Dallas Cowboys football team. Whether it be another season of growth from Dak Prescott, seeing CeeDee Lamb wear the iconic 88 alongside Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, or how a new coaching staff will maximize the talent on this roster, there are many things to point to for optimism.

For the first time since 2007, Jason Garrett will not be on the sidelines in Dallas Cowboys colors. Instead, the Cowboys hired Super Bowl-winning coach Mike McCarthy after a disappointing 8-8 campaign that saw Dallas miss the playoffs.

There is some expectation that McCarthy, who took a season off in 2019 after being fired from his job with the Green Bay Packers, will get the Cowboys back on track and back in the postseason.

Mike McCarthy has very high odds to win 2020 NFL Coach of the Year honors.

It turns out that Cowboys fans are not alone in the thinking that McCarthy will lead the Cowboys to a successful season after a mediocre record just a year ago. McCarthy has the third best odds to win AP Coach of the Year honors, according to Bet Online.

Bill Belichick, arguably the game’s greatest coach, sits atop the list. It will be interesting to see how successful the Patriots are in the post-Tom Brady era. Bruce Arians comes in with the same odds as the Patriots’s head coach. Interestingly, Arians now gets the opportunity to coach Brady — along with a number of other highly talented skilled position players on that offense.

McCarthy, who has not coached an NFL game since week 13 in the 2018 season, has better odds to win the honor than Andy Reid, who just won his first Super Bowl a few short months ago.

Dallas’ new head coach has the second best odds to win Coach of the Year, per FanDuel as well.

The offense seems to be a big factor in why.

Mike McCarthy is an offensive-minded coach that has tons of experience coaching the quarterback position. It obviously helps to coach a talent such as Aaron Rodgers, but McCarthy has earned the reputation of a strong quarterback coach. That seems to be a big reason in why many feel as if the Cowboys should be better in 2020.

Dak Prescott is coming off of his most successful statistical season since entering the league. His mechanics and accuracy have improved over his four seasons as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, and that should only continue with the coaching from McCarthy and with the team retaining Kellen Moore on staff.

Elsewhere, the Cowboys have one of the game’s best running backs on its roster in addition to a scary talented wide receiver trio featuring the likes of 1,000-yard receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup along with 2020 first-round draft selection CeeDee Lamb. The offense has all kinds of firepower, and the thinking is that McCarthy will be able to maximize that.

The Coach of the Year almost always goes to the coach of a highly successful team.

Much like MVP, the Coach of the Year is often given to the head coach of one of the best teams in the league. Therefore, the Cowboys would have to likely win the NFC East and challenge for a top seed in the NFC Playoffs if McCarthy has any chance to living up to these offseason odds.

Speaking of MVP, Prescott also has high odds to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player, while CeeDee Lamb is in the top seven for Rookie of the Year honors.

It appears that many are expecting the Cowboys to be good in 2020. Will Dallas rebound after a disappointing 2019 season? If so, Mike McCarthy will be a big reason why,