PFT’s 2024 NFL Coach of the Year: Dan Campbell

He arrived with a bang, driven by his pledge to bite his knees. Three years later, he transformed the perpetually dysfunctional Detroit Lions into one of the best teams in football.

And yes, the Lions were supposed to be good. The Coach of the Year is usually the coach of the team that surprised everyone the most. By that standard, it’s Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.

But we need to go beyond the “big surprise coach” standard and give the award to the best coach of the year. The Lions battled through injuries and recorded fifteen wins, a franchise record. Campbell was true to himself all year, using his tough authenticity and take-no-prisoners mentality to motivate the locker room and make the Lions believe they were destined to win it all.

Could a stubborn commitment to who he is and what he does catch up to Campbell in the postseason? maybe. But this is a regular season award.

In the biggest regular season matchup in years, Campbell defeated O’Connell.

It was close. Going into week 18, it was very hot. Game 272 ended in a tiebreaker.

O’Connell could win the coach of the year award, which matters much more than this one, if enough voters don’t deviate from the usual test to choose coach of the year. I did. We did. To put together a valiant, strenuous and more-than-exploding effort despite a critical mass of injuries to win the top seed in the NFC, the award goes to Campbell.

Others worth mentioning include Broncos coach Sean Payton, who in his second season led the Broncos to their first playoff berth since 2015. Chiefs coach Andy Reid has 15 wins with a Chiefs team that doesn’t look as strong as it does. That’s been the case in recent years, but he could still emerge with another Super Bowl win.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn changed the culture in one year, posting the most wins since 1991, when the team last won the Super Bowl.

Again, it was close. But it was very difficult to give it to O’Connell when the Vikings won 0-2 against the Lions and Campbell.