# AP NFL Coach of the Year award

The AP NFL Coach of the Year (COTY) 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.
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, all of which were in a nine season span. Chuck Knox and Bill Belichick have each been awarded three times.
Three coaches have won the award in back to back years: Allie Sherman (1961–1962), Shula (1967–1968), and Joe Gibbs (1982–1983).

## Annual winners

Key :
| Symbol | Meaning |
| † | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| ^ | Currently active as a head coach in the NFL |
| * | Team won NFL championship (1957–1965) or Super Bowl (1966–present) the same year the recipient won the award |
| ~ | Won award following their first season as head coach of the team |
| (#) | Denotes the number of times a coach appears in this list |
| Season | Coach | Team | Record |
| 1957 | George Wilson~ | Detroit Lions* | 8–4 |
| 1958 | Weeb Ewbank† | Baltimore Colts* | 9–3 |
| 1959 | Vince Lombardi~† | Green Bay Packers | 7–5 |
| 1960 | Buck Shaw | Philadelphia Eagles* | 10–2 |
| 1961 | Allie Sherman | New York Giants | 10–3–1 |
| 1962 | Allie Sherman (2) | New York Giants | 12–2 |
| 1963 | George Halas† | Chicago Bears* | 11–1–2 |
| 1964 | Don Shula† | Baltimore Colts | 12–2 |
| 1965 | George Halas† (2) | Chicago Bears | 9–5 |
| 1966 | Tom Landry† | Dallas Cowboys | 10–3–1 |
| 1967 | George Allen† | Los Angeles Rams | 11–1–2 |
| 1967 | Don Shula† (2) | Baltimore Colts | 11–1–2 |
| 1968 | Don Shula† (3) | Baltimore Colts | 13–1 |
| 1969 | Bud Grant† | Minnesota Vikings | 12–2 |
| 1970 | Paul Brown | Cincinnati Bengals | 8–6 |
| 1971 | George Allen~† (2) | Washington Redskins | 9–4–1 |
| 1972 | Don Shula† (4) | Miami Dolphins* | 14–0 |
| 1973 | Chuck Knox | Los Angeles Rams | 12–2 |
| 1974 | Don Coryell† | St. Louis Cardinals | 10–4 |
| 1975 | Ted Marchibroda~ | Baltimore Colts | 10–4 |
| 1976 | Forrest Gregg† | Cleveland Browns | 9–5 |
| 1977 | Red Miller~ | Denver Broncos | 12–2 |
| 1978 | Jack Patera | Seattle Seahawks | 9–7 |
| 1979 | Jack Pardee | Washington Redskins | 10–6 |
| 1980 | Chuck Knox (2) | Buffalo Bills | 11–5 |
| 1981 | Bill Walsh† | San Francisco 49ers* | 13–3 |
| 1982 | Joe Gibbs† | Washington Redskins* | 8–1 |
| 1983 | Joe Gibbs† (2) | Washington Redskins | 14–2 |
| 1984 | Chuck Knox (3) | Seattle Seahawks | 12–4 |
| 1985 | Mike Ditka† | Chicago Bears* | 15–1 |
| 1986 | Bill Parcells† | New York Giants* | 14–2 |
| 1987 | Jim Mora | New Orleans Saints | 12–3 |
| 1988 | Mike Ditka† (2) | Chicago Bears | 12–4 |
| 1989 | Lindy Infante | Green Bay Packers | 10–6 |
| 1990 | Jimmy Johnson† | Dallas Cowboys | 7–9 |
| 1991 | Wayne Fontes | Detroit Lions | 12–4 |
| 1992 | Bill Cowher~† | Pittsburgh Steelers | 11–5 |
| 1993 | Dan Reeves~ | New York Giants | 11–5 |
| 1994 | Bill Parcells† (2) | New England Patriots | 10–6 |
| 1995 | Ray Rhodes~ | Philadelphia Eagles | 10–6 |
| 1996 | Dom Capers | Carolina Panthers | 12–4 |
| 1997 | Jim Fassel~ | New York Giants | 10–5–1 |
| 1998 | Dan Reeves (2) | Atlanta Falcons | 14–2 |
| 1999 | Dick Vermeil† | St. Louis Rams* | 13–3 |
| 2000 | Jim Haslett~ | New Orleans Saints | 10–6 |
| 2001 | Dick Jauron | Chicago Bears | 13–3 |
| 2002 | Andy Reid | Philadelphia Eagles | 12–4 |
| 2003 | Bill Belichick | New England Patriots* | 14–2 |
| 2004 | Marty Schottenheimer | San Diego Chargers | 12–4 |
| 2005 | Lovie Smith | Chicago Bears | 11–5 |
| 2006 | Sean Payton | New Orleans Saints | 10–6 |
| 2007 | Bill Belichick (2) | New England Patriots | 16–0 |
| 2008 | Mike Smith~ | Atlanta Falcons | 11–5 |
| 2009 | Marvin Lewis | Cincinnati Bengals | 10–6 |
| 2010 | Bill Belichick (3) | New England Patriots | 14–2 |
| 2011 | Jim Harbaugh~ | San Francisco 49ers | 13–3 |
| 2012 | Bruce Arians~ | Indianapolis Colts | 9–3 |
| 2013 | Ron Rivera | Carolina Panthers | 12–4 |
| 2014 | Bruce Arians (2) | Arizona Cardinals | 11–5 |
| 2015 | Ron Rivera (2) | Carolina Panthers | 15–1 |
| 2016 | Jason Garrett | Dallas Cowboys | 13–3 |
| 2017 | Sean McVay~ | Los Angeles Rams | 11–5 |
| 2018 | Matt Nagy~ | Chicago Bears | 12–4 |
| 2019 | John Harbaugh | Baltimore Ravens | 14–2 |
| 2020 | Kevin Stefanski~ | Cleveland Browns | 11–5 |
| 2021 | Mike Vrabel | Tennessee Titans | 12–5 |
| 2022 | Brian Daboll~ | New York Giants | 9–7–1 |
| 2023 | Kevin Stefanski (2) | Cleveland Browns | 11–6 |
| 2024 | Kevin O'Connell | Minnesota Vikings | 14–3 |

## Multi-time winners

Most AP NFL Coach of the Year awards won :
| Count | Coach | Seasons | Team(s) |
| 4 | Don Shula | 1964, 1967, 1968, 1972 | Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins |
| 3 | Bill Belichick | 2003, 2007, 2010 | New England Patriots |
| 3 | Chuck Knox | 1973, 1980, 1984 | Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks |
| 2 | George Allen | 1967, 1971 | Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins |
| 2 | Bruce Arians | 2012, 2014 | Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals |
| 2 | Mike Ditka | 1985, 1988 | Chicago Bears |
| 2 | Joe Gibbs | 1982, 1983 | Washington Redskins |
| 2 | George Halas | 1963, 1965 | Chicago Bears |
| 2 | Bill Parcells | 1986, 1994 | New York Giants, New England Patriots |
| 2 | Dan Reeves | 1993, 1998 | New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons |
| 2 | Ron Rivera | 2013, 2015 | Carolina Panthers |
| 2 | Allie Sherman | 1961, 1962 | New York Giants |
| 2 | Kevin Stefanski | 2020, 2023 | Cleveland Browns |