Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year Award

The Associated Press National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by the Associated Press (AP) to the National Football League (NFL) coach adjudged to have had the most outstanding season. It has been awarded since the 1957 season. Since 2011, the winner has been announced at the annual NFL Honors ceremony.

AP NFL Coach of the Year Award

Kevin Stefanski, a two-time winner of the award and the most recent recipient.
Awarded for	Coach of the year in the National Football League
Presented by	Associated Press
History
First award	1957
Most wins	Don Shula (4)
Most recent	Kevin Stefanski

Don Shula has won the most AP NFL Coach of the Year awards, receiving four during his 33-year head coaching career: three with the Baltimore Colts and one with the Miami Dolphins. Chuck Knox and Bill Belichick have each been awarded three times.

Winners

 

Don Shula was named Coach of the Year four times, the most of any coach.

Bold	Team won NFL championship (1957–1965) or Super Bowl (1966–present)
Italics	First-year head coach of that team
^	Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
*	Currently active NFL head coach
Name (X)	Denotes number of times received the award

Season	Coach	Team	Record	Ref
1957	George Wilson	Detroit Lions	8–4	^[1]
1958	Weeb Ewbank^^	Baltimore Colts	9–3	^[2]
1959	Vince Lombardi^^	Green Bay Packers	7–5	^[3]
1960	Buck Shaw	Philadelphia Eagles	10–2	^[4]
1961	Allie Sherman	New York Giants	10–3–1	^[5]
1962	Allie Sherman (2)	New York Giants	12–2	^[6]
1963	George Halas^^	Chicago Bears	11–1–2	^[7]
1964	Don Shula^^	Baltimore Colts	12–2	^[8]
1965	George Halas^^ (2)	Chicago Bears	9–5	^[9]
1966	Tom Landry^^	Dallas Cowboys	10–3–1	^[10]
1967	George Allen^^ Don Shula^^ (2)	Los Angeles Rams Baltimore Colts	11–1–2 11–1–2	^[11]
1968	Don Shula^^ (3)	Baltimore Colts	13–1	^[12]
1969	Bud Grant^^	Minnesota Vikings	12–2	^[13]
1970	Paul Brown	Cincinnati Bengals	8–6	^[14]
1971	George Allen^^ (2)	Washington Redskins	9–4–1	^[15]
1972	Don Shula^^ (4)	Miami Dolphins	14–0	^[16]
1973	Chuck Knox	Los Angeles Rams	12–2	^[17]
1974	Don Coryell^^	St. Louis Cardinals	10–4	^[18]
1975	Ted Marchibroda	Baltimore Colts	10–4	^[19]
1976	Forrest Gregg^^^[a]	Cleveland Browns	9–5	^[20]
1977	Red Miller	Denver Broncos	12–2	^[21]
1978	Jack Patera	Seattle Seahawks	9–7	^[22]
1979	Jack Pardee	Washington Redskins	10–6	^[23]
1980	Chuck Knox (2)	Buffalo Bills	11–5	^[24]
1981	Bill Walsh^^	San Francisco 49ers	13–3	^[25]
1982	Joe Gibbs^^	Washington Redskins	8–1	^[26]
1983	Joe Gibbs^^ (2)	Washington Redskins	14–2	^[27]
1984	Chuck Knox (3)	Seattle Seahawks	12–4	^[28]
1985	Mike Ditka^^^[a]	Chicago Bears	15–1	^[29]
1986	Bill Parcells^^	New York Giants	14–2	^[30]
1987	Jim Mora	New Orleans Saints	12–3	^[31]
1988	Mike Ditka^^* (2)	Chicago Bears	12–4	^[32]
1989	Lindy Infante	Green Bay Packers	10–6	^[33]
1990	Jimmy Johnson^^	Dallas Cowboys	7–9	^[34]
1991	Wayne Fontes	Detroit Lions	12–4	^[35]
1992	Bill Cowher^^	Pittsburgh Steelers	11–5	^[36]
1993	Dan Reeves	New York Giants	11–5	^[37]
1994	Bill Parcells^^ (2)	New England Patriots	10–6	^[38]
1995	Ray Rhodes	Philadelphia Eagles	10–6	^[39]
1996	Dom Capers	Carolina Panthers	12–4	^[40]
1997	Jim Fassel	New York Giants	10–5–1	^[41]
1998	Dan Reeves (2)	Atlanta Falcons	14–2	^[42]
1999	Dick Vermeil^^	St. Louis Rams	13–3	^[43]
2000	Jim Haslett	New Orleans Saints	10–6	^[44]
2001	Dick Jauron	Chicago Bears	13–3	^[45]
2002	Andy Reid^*	Philadelphia Eagles	12–4	^[46]
2003	Bill Belichick	New England Patriots	14–2	^[47]
2004	Marty Schottenheimer	San Diego Chargers	12–4	^[48]
2005	Lovie Smith	Chicago Bears	11–5	^[49]
2006	Sean Payton^*	New Orleans Saints	10–6	^[50]
2007	Bill Belichick (2)	New England Patriots	16–0	^[51]
2008	Mike Smith	Atlanta Falcons	11–5	^[52]
2009	Marvin Lewis	Cincinnati Bengals	10–6	^[53]
2010	Bill Belichick (3)	New England Patriots	14–2	^[54]
2011	Jim Harbaugh	San Francisco 49ers	13–3	^[55]
2012	Bruce Arians	Indianapolis Colts	9–3^[b]	^[56]
2013	Ron Rivera	Carolina Panthers	12–4	^[57]
2014	Bruce Arians (2)	Arizona Cardinals	11–5	^[58]
2015	Ron Rivera (2)	Carolina Panthers	15–1	^[59]
2016	Jason Garrett	Dallas Cowboys	13–3	^[60]
2017	Sean McVay^*	Los Angeles Rams	11–5	^[61]
2018	Matt Nagy	Chicago Bears	12–4	^[62]
2019	John Harbaugh^*	Baltimore Ravens	14–2	^[63]
2020	Kevin Stefanski^*	Cleveland Browns	11–5	^[64]
2021	Mike Vrabel	Tennessee Titans	12–5	^[65]
2022	Brian Daboll^*	New York Giants	9–7–1	^[66]
2023	Kevin Stefanski^* (2)	Cleveland Browns	11–6	^[67]

See also

• National Football League Coach of the Year Award for NFL coach of the year awards by other organizations

Notes

1. Ditka and Gregg were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame primarily in recognition of their playing careers.
2. Arians served as interim head coach for team's final 12 games in place of Chuck Pagano.

References

General

• Gellerman, Jacob; Drexler, Sam; Marini, Matt; Cocchiaro, Nicolas; Zerkel, Alex, eds. (2016). 2018 Official NFL Record and Fact Book (PDF). National Football League. p. 525. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
• "AP NFL Coach of the Year". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 6, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.

Footnotes

1. "George Wilson Coach of Year in Pro-Loop". Greeley Daily Tribune. Associated Press. January 9, 1958. p. 8. Retrieved March 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Associated Press Votes Ewbank Coach of Year". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. January 12, 1959. p. 9. Retrieved March 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Lombardi Named Coach Of Year". The Odessa American. Associated Press. December 22, 1959. p. 23. Retrieved March 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "AP NFL Coach of the Year". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. February 6, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
5. "Allie Sherman Coach of Year". The Portsmouth Herald. Associated Press. December 19, 1961. p. 10. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Jim Taylor Player of Year and Allie Sherman Coach of Year in NFL Voting". The Evening Times. Associated Press. December 13, 1962. p. 14. Retrieved March 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Liska, Jerry (December 12, 1963). "George Halas Coach Of Year". The Advocate-Messenger. Associated Press. p. 12. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Hand, Jack (December 10, 1964). "Don Shula Coach Of Year In NFL". The Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland). Hagerstown, Maryland. Associated Press. p. 39. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Liska, Jerry (December 23, 1965). "George Halas Coach Of Year". The Indiana Gazette. Associated Press. p. 10. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Cowboys' Tom Landry NFL's Coach Of Year". The Lincoln Star. Associated Press. December 16, 1966. p. 26. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "George Allen, Don Shula NFL Coaches of the Year". Nashua Telegraph. Associated Press. December 19, 1967. p. 14. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Colts' Don Shula Is Coach of Year". Brownwood Bulletin. Associated Press. December 19, 1968. p. 14. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Hallman, Charley (December 18, 1969). "Vikings Bud Grant Selected Coach Of The Year". The La Crosse Tribune. Associated Press. p. 22. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Bengals' Brown Coach Of Year". The Bee. Associated Press. January 8, 1971. p. 7. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Allen Of Washington Is Coach Of The Year". Gadsden Times. Associated Press. January 6, 1972. p. 14. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
16. "Shula top NFL coach, authored 16–0 record". Anderson Daily Bulletin. Associated Press. January 5, 1973. p. 7. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Chuck Knox NFL Coach Of Year". The Danville Register. Associated Press. January 6, 1974. p. 35. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Don Coryell Receives Coach of Year Honors". Ironwood Daily Globe. Associated Press. January 6, 1975. p. 12. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Ted Marchibroda NFL Coach of Year". The Daily Times-News. Associated Press. January 11, 1976. p. 45. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Forrest Gregg NFL Coach of the Year". The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune. Associated Press. December 31, 1976. p. 8. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
21. "Broncos' Red Miller NFL Coach of Year". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Associated Press. January 6, 1978. p. 5. Retrieved March 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
22. Baker, Tony (January 10, 1979). "Patera Coach Of Year". The Gettysburg Times. Associated Press. p. 17. Retrieved April 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Jack Pardee: Coach of the Year". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Associated Press. December 19, 1979. p. 7. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Bills' Knox honored". The Index-Journal. Associated Press. January 6, 1981. p. 7. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "Bill Walsh Overwhelming Coach of Year Choice". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Associated Press. January 5, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
26. Rosenfeld, Ira (January 5, 1983). "Gibbs named Coach of the Year". The Gettysburg Times. Associated Press. p. 9. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
27. "Redskins' Joe Gibbs coach of year". The Index-Journal. Associated Press. December 20, 1983. p. 10. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "Seattle's Knox Coach of Year". The Index-Journal. Associated Press. December 21, 1984. p. 10. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "Ditka named Coach of Year". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. December 28, 1985. p. 15. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
30. "Giants' Bill Parcells Named Coach of Year". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Associated Press. December 31, 1986. p. 7. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
31. "Saints' Mora voted Coach of the Year". The Galveston Daily News. Associated Press. January 1, 1988. p. 17. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
32. Goldberg, Dave (December 29, 1988). "Mike Ditka Named NFL Coach of Year". Daily Sitka Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 6. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "Packers' Infante Named AP Coach of Year". Chicago Tribune. January 4, 1990. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
34. "Johnson Named Top NFL Coach". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. Associated Press. January 9, 1991. p. 11. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
35. "Fontes Wins AP Award as the NFL Coach of Year". Los Angeles Times. December 26, 1991. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
36. Starr, Rick (December 30, 1992). "Coach of the Year: Cowher tops talented field with 23 votes". News Record. p. 19. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
37. Freeman, Mike (January 7, 1994). "Pro Football; Coach of Year A Vindication For Reeves". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
38. "Parcells Lands AP Coach-of-the-Year". Tyrone Daily Herald. Associated Press. December 31, 1994. p. 5. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
39. Wilner, Barry (December 27, 1995). "Eagles' Rhodes Coach of the Year". Standard-Speaker. Associated Press. p. 18. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
40. "Dom Capers Easily Voted AP's NFL Coach of the Year". Deseret News. Associated Press. December 25, 1996. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
41. Canavan, Tom (December 26, 1997). "Jim Fassel is AP Coach of the Year". Ukiah Daily Journal. Associated Press. p. 10. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
42. "Reeves: NFL's Coach Of The Year". CBS News. January 2, 1999. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
43. "NFL Coach of the Year: Rams' Vermeil honored for turnaround". Kitsap Sun. Associated Press. January 16, 2000. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
44. "Haslett named coach of the year". Amarillo Globe-News. Associated Press. January 7, 2001. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
45. Wilner, Barry (January 20, 2002). "Bears' Jauron named Coach of the Year". Athens Banner-Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
46. "Philadelphia's Reid chosen coach of year". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Associated Press. January 12, 2003. p. 31. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
47. "Belichick is top coach". The Hays Daily News. Associated Press. January 4, 2004. p. 9. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
48. Wilner, Barry (January 9, 2005). "Coach recognized for Chargers' 180". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. p. 19. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
49. U.S. Congress, ed. (2010). Congressional Record, V. 153, PT. 2, January 18, 2007 to February 1, 2007. Government Printing Office. p. 2,647. ISBN 978-0160868252. Retrieved May 24, 2017. Whereas Lovie Smith was named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year for 2005.
50. "Sean Payton: AP NFL Coach of the Year". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 8, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
51. "Belichick tabbed top coach". The Index-Journal. Associated Press. January 4, 2008. p. 13. Retrieved May 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
52. "Falcons' Smith voted as coach of year". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 4, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
53. "Bengals' Marvin Lewis named AP's NFL coach of the year". USA Today. Associated Press. January 16, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
54. "Bill Belichick wins AP Coach of the Year". ESPN.com. February 3, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
55. Wilner, Barry (February 4, 2012). "49ers' Jim Harbaugh wins Coach of Year". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
56. Brinson, Will (February 3, 2013). "Bruce Arians wins 2012 Coach of the Year Award". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
57. Wesseling, Chris (February 1, 2014). "Carolina Panthers' Ron Rivera wins Coach of the Year". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
58. Brinson, Will (January 31, 2015). "2014 NFL Coach of the Year: Cardinals' Bruce Arians wins easily". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
59. Ducey, Kenny (February 7, 2016). "Panthers' Ron Rivera named 2015 Coach of the Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
60. Reyes, Lorenzo (February 4, 2017). "Cowboys' Jason Garrett named NFL coach of the year". USA Today. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
61. "Rams' Sean McVay named NFL Coach of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
62. "Bears' Matt Nagy wins NFL Coach of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
63. Bergman, Jeremy (February 1, 2020). "Ravens' John Harbaugh wins 2019 Coach of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
64. Baca, Michael (February 6, 2021). "Browns' Kevin Stefanski wins AP Coach of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
65. Goodbread, Chase (February 10, 2022). "Titans coach Mike Vrabel named 2021 AP NFL Coach of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
66. Baca, Michael (February 9, 2023). "Giants head coach Brian Daboll named AP NFL Coach of the Year after leading Big Blue back to playoffs". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
67. "Browns' Kevin Stefanski named AP 2023 NFL Coach of the Year". NFL.com. Retrieved 2024-02-09.