Former Duke football quarterback Daniel Jones has resuscitated his once-lost NFL career this season with the Indianapolis Colts, getting the team out to a 3-0 start. Not only is Jones reaping the benefits of his resurfaced career, but Colts head coach Shane Steichen looks like an absolute genius starting Jones over Anthony Richardson, a quarterback the franchise drafted with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Steichen is currently the favorite to win the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year award, according to the betting markets, and a lot of that has to do with his gamble to start Jones over Richardson.
Shane Steichen is now the betting favorite to win 2025 Coach of the Year award
Steichen took some heat from fans and insiders around the nation after he announced that Jones would be the team's Week 1 starter. However, with Jones' recent elite play, Steichen looks like a mastermind. Now, he's the favorite to win the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year award. According to FanDuel, Steichen has +380 odds to win the award, leading the pack. Steichen is followed by Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh (+650), 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan (+1000), and Jaguars head coach Liam Coen (+1000).
Through the first three games of the 2025 campaign, Jones has thrown for 816 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He's also run for 55 yards and another three scores. The 28-year-old's 85.8 quarterback rating leads the NFL, and Jones ranks third in the league in passing yards.
Steichen kept the announcement short when the moment came to announce Jones as the Week 1 starter, but that didn't stop him from receiving tons of backlash, as he elected to gamble on Jones over a prospect the Colts drafted in the top five just a couple of years ago.
Regardless, the Colts head coach, along with the rest of the front office, know they've made the right call. Indianapolis came into the season projected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, and now it's undefeated through the first three weeks of the season.