SI's Albert Breer says it could be a duel between John Harbaugh and Bill Belichick, among others.
Who is leading the race for coach of the year in the NFL? Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer tackled the question in his latest mailbag.
In response to one reader, Breer says one could make the case for John Harbaugh, who still has the Baltimore Ravens in the hunt for a playoff spot despite the team's injury issues throughout the season.
Wrote Breer: "[Harbaugh has done this] without his top two tailbacks (a huge deal, based on how the Ravens’ offense is built), his starting left tackle, starting free safety (DeShon Elliott) and now he’ll go forward without his top two corners (he’s been without his No. 2 corner all year, and his No. 1’s now done for the year, too). They also had a rash of receiver injuries that made it hard for Lamar Jackson to build chemistry with a position group that was almost completely turned over."
Breer's other candidates to consider:
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- Bill Belichick, New England Patriots: You could make a good argument that no coach or executive in the NFL has gotten more right from March to December this year than the soon-to-be 70-something New England icon.
- Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona Cardinals: Arizona might’ve had the worst roster in football when Kingsbury was hired. Since then, he’s built a staff proficient in developing talent, helped Kyler Murray evolve into an MVP candidate, and now, less than three years later, has the Cardinals going into Week 14 with the best record in football.
- Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers: He was invaluable through an awkward offseason in managing his relationship with Aaron Rodgers, and his bosses who were at odds with the quarterback. He also had the stomach to make a defensive coordinator hire that drew criticism and wound up being excellent, and has managed a raft of injuries to significant players like David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Jaire Alexander, Za’Darius Smith and Aaron Jones. Oh, and he’s got the best winning percentage among active coaches (.771).
- Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans: They’ve hit a rut, but before consecutive losses, to teams good (Patriots) and bad (Texans), Vrabel had the Titans atop the AFC, and he’s another one who’s handled more injuries than most teams can withstand, with hits coming hard at corner and the offensive skill-position players. One reason for their resilience? Vrabel’s built a very real identity into his team that it can lean on when things go haywire.
Read Breer's entire mailbag here.
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