NFL Head Coach Preseason Betting Trends

NFL Preseason Betting: All-Time Coaching Records

Knowing how each NFL head coach approaches the preseason is crucial for bettors at this time of year.

Some coaches play starters, some don't. Some care about winning preseason games, others couldn’t care less. I'll break down every NFL coach's preseason history below and pick out a few key trends to know.

Keep in mind this is the third season in which there are just three preseason games instead of four, so this year's Week 3 will act more like the traditional Week 4 from an NFL betting perspective: 

NFL Head Coach Preseason Betting Records

Coach Preseason Report
CoachATS RecordWeek 1Week 2Week 3Week 4
Bill Belichick46-41-613-8-314-109-13-19-10-2
Andy Reid44-44-48-13-214-8-112-1110-10-1
John Harbaugh39-1813-28-79-59-3
Pete Carroll38-238-89-711-49-4
Mike Tomlin33-29-19-6-18-88-76-7
Mike McCarthy28-31-26-1011-57-7-14-8-1
Sean Payton27-307-86-910-34-9
Ron Rivera22-21-17-55-74-6-16-3
Sean McDermott13-74-24-22-33-0
Kyle Shanahan10-9-13-33-2-13-21-2
Frank Reich9-5-21-3-13-1-13-12-0
Doug Pederson10-122-44-22-32-2
Sean McVay9-10-12-43-2-13-21-2
Josh McDaniels9-53-12-22-11-1
Todd Bowles9-123-32-42-32-2
Mike Vrabel6-8-22-33-20-2-21-1
Dennis Allen7-102-32-32-21-2
Robert Saleh6-33-02-11-10-0
Zac Taylor6-61-34-01-20-1
Kevin Stefanski5-3-12-11-1-11-10-0
Matt LaFleur4-82-21-30-31-0
Matt Eberflus4-12-01-11-00-0
Arthur Smith3-52-10-31-10-0
Brandon Staley3-52-11-20-20-0
Mike McDaniel3-21-11-11-00-0
Nick Sirianni2-5-11-20-2-11-10-0
Dan Campbell2-5-11-21-1-10-20-0
Jonathan Gannon1-11-00-10-00-0
Shane Steichen1-10-11-00-00-0
DeMeco Ryans1-11-00-10-00-0
Kevin O'Connell0-50-20-20-10-0
Brian Daboll0-50-20-20-10-0

The above chart is sorted by all-time preseason wins, so naturally the most experienced coaches rise to the top. But, diving into the preseason betting trends a bit further, here are some takeaways:

Baltimore's Harbaugh Is a Preseason Legend

Maybe it's Baltimore's depth? Maybe it's coaching? Maybe it's straight luck? Whatever it is, the Baltimore Ravens under John Harbaugh have been an absolute wagon during the NFL's preseason. They're 39-18 against the spread all-time and have lost just one game since 2015.

There are few people I trust more than John Harbaugh in the preseason, so take his record into consideration when betting on the NFL preseason this year.

Pete Carroll Turns It On Late

Nobody is close to matching Harbaugh's preseason success, but Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has his own trend to worry about. Carroll's Seattle squads become absolutely dominant as the preseason wears on. In Week 3/4 games under Carroll, the Seahawks are 20-8 against the spread.

What's helped the 'hawks, at least in recent years, is some position battles at key positions. The last few seasons Carroll has brought competitions down to the final week of the preseason (Geno Smith vs Drew Lock at QB, Rashaad Penny vs Alex Collins at RB, etc.). It's hard to tell if the Seahawks will have many of those battles this year, though, with Smith grabbing the QB job for sure, so I'd be a little hesitant to tail Carroll in preseason Week 3.

Fade The Saints Before The Season

Dennis Allen hasn't had much success as an NFL head coach. He's 18-47 across five seasons coaching the Raiders and Saints and that lack of success trickles into the preseason. Allen's squads don't have a winning record against the spread in a single preseason week. Overall, he's the worst ATS preseason coach with at least 15 games.

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