Eagles’ Nick Sirianni is becoming a runaway leader for Coach of the Year

“Winning the press conference” is one of the weirdest judgments in sports. A new coach will get up in front of reporters and project confidence, and it doesn’t matter at all for future wins and losses. Some new coaches who know how to answer questions well couldn’t lead the 1989 San Francisco 49ers to a winning record.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni did not win his introductory news conference, whatever that means. Fans cringed and laughed at Sirianni fumbling through an answer about “systems.”

And, it didn’t matter at all for wins and losses.

In Sirianni’s second season he is, at least by one measure, the best coach in the NFL. Or at least having the best season. Sirianni is the easy favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year at BetMGM. The Eagles are 10-1 and Sirianni is doing a great job.

His systems worked, apparently.

Nick Sirianni favored to win Coach of the Year

Here are the current Coach of the Year odds at BetMGM, with Sirianni holding a huge lead:

Sirianni -130

Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins +450

Robert Saleh, New York Jets +500

Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings +550

Those are the four contenders, according to the odds. Every other coach is +1600 or longer.

There is a lot of time for that to flip. Brian Daboll (+1600) looked like a pretty good bet a few weeks ago but the buzz over the New York Giants’ fun start dissipated with a couple losses. If the Giants get on another run, he’ll get that buzz back. Someone like Mike McCarthy (+1800) would have to get some attention if the Dallas Cowboys beat out the Eagles for the NFC East.

A lot can change in the last few weeks of the season, but what won’t change is that the Eagles have to be pleased with their hire of Sirianni. In Sirianni’s first year, he completely changed his offense after a slow start, leaning into a run-heavy attack and the Eagles made the playoffs. This season the Eagles weren’t even favored to win the NFC East, but they have the best record in the NFL.

Sirianni is already showing the ability to figure out what his players do best, and putting them in positions to succeed.

Eagles are having a great season

Winning Coach of the Year doesn’t mean you’re a superstar. Matt Nagy and Jason Garrett are among those who have won the award more recently than Bill Belichick or Andy Reid.

Still, it seems Sirianni is a great fit. He has a fiery personality that officials might not like but his players seem to respect. He has done a great job getting the most out of the Eagles’ talent, including quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Eagles, at +600, are tied for the third-best Super Bowl odds. At this point it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see the Eagles playing in February.

Sirianni’s -140 odds to win NFL Coach of the Year indicate that it’s his award to lose. If the Eagles get the No. 1 seed in the NFC — they have a 79.5 percent chance to do so, according to Football Outsiders — then Sirianni will get plenty of votes. The race isn’t over, but Sirianni has a big lead.

And no matter if Sirianni wins the award, his future looks bright.