Frank Reich
Frank Reich seems to be Matt Nagys biggest competition as the first year coach who completely turned his team around to win coach of the year. Like Nagy, Reich was picking in the top ten for his first NFL draft. The Colts had a worse 2017 than the Chicago Bears did.
With that in mind, his accomplishments may even be more significant. However, he also was aided in being a bad team that just so happened to get a franchise quarterback back from injury. When you have the high draft picks and the addition of Andrew Luck, it helps the cause.
That shows in the team’s season win total. They were projected to win about seven games this season, one more than the Chicago Bears. Despite that, the Chicago Bears have two more wins than the Indianapolis Colts.
Frank Reich was not even expected to be hired by the Colts. They had their eyes on Josh McDaniels. To rise as that underdog and show the team they made the right decision will help his case. A narrative is also starting to build that he was the brains back in Philadelphia when they won a championship last year.
He is going to make a run at it, but will undoubtedly need a playoff berth to compete with Matt Nagy, who overthrew the Vikings of last year and Aaron Rodgers. He is undoubtedly one of the top candidates for the award, but having the same first-year argument as Nagy with fewer wins is going to make it a tough case.