When it comes to betting the spread, taking the head coach’s tendencies into account can have as much of an impact as the players on the field.
In California, that means all three of its NFL coaches do a good job of covering the spread week in and week out. All of them rank in the top half of the league.
BetCalifornia.com utilized data from TeamRankings.com to gather every active NFL coach’s record against the spread (ATS), dating back to 2003 when data was made available. We did not include records from interim stints.
Unfortunately it will be several more years before there is legal sports betting in California on NFL or college football.
NFL Coaches Against the Spread
Although there are no California sports betting apps, national operators list Kansas City as the Super Bowl favorites at +625, just ahead of the team it beat in last season’s title game (Philadelphia, +850).
If you are interested in following odds from in-state teams, be sure to bookmark the following team pages:
49ers Odds
From Super Bowl odds to playoff chances, player props, game-by-game odds and more, follow our San Francisco 49ers Odds page.
Chargers Odds
From Super Bowl odds to playoff chances, player props, game-by-game odds and more, follow our Los Angeles Chargers Odds page.
Rams Odds
From Super Bowl odds to playoff chances, player props, game-by-game odds and more, follow our Los Angeles Rams Odds page.
Four Young Coaches Top the List
The New York Giants won a playoff game under first-year coach Brian Daboll, who was 14-5 against the spread so he tops the list with a 73.7 cover percentage. Three of the five times the Giants didn’t cover the spread in Daboll’s first season came while going 0-5 against the Cowboys and Eagles, who eliminated New York with a 38-7 loss in the divisional round.
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell ranks second going into his third year, while two coaching their fifth seasons — the Bengals’ Zac Taylor and the Packer Matt LaFleur — are third and fourth on the list.
Brandon Staley of the Los Angeles Charges ranks seventh at 55.9% with a 19-15-1 ATS record in two seasons. California’s other two coaches aren’t far behind. In six seasons, the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan is 11th at 53.8% and 57-49-1, while the Rams’ Sean McVay is 14th at 52.4% and 54-49-5.
Season of Pressure for California NFL Teams
The pressure is on all three California coaches this season for varying reasons.
Staley’s team was 11-6-1 ATS last year, but the season ended by losing a 30-14 lead over the Jaguars in a little over the final quarter. Jacksonville won the wildcard playoff game 31-30 as time expired. That makes 15 years now since the Chargers played for the AFC Championship, and there’s only been three wildcard playoff wins in four playoff appearances since 2007.
The Chargers just gave quarterback Justin Herbert a five-year extension worth $262.5 million, so the time for him and Staley to start delivering some meaningful playoff runs is now.
According to Caesars Sportsbook (there is no Caesars Sportsbook California), the Chargers are a 2.5-point favorite in the home opener against the up-and-coming Miami Dolphins.
Where the Chargers are just hoping to get to conference championship games, Shanahan is looking to get the 49ers over the hump of the NFC Championship. San Francisco has lost two straight years now with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, including last year’s 31-7 debacle to the Philadelphia Eagles when the 49ers didn’t have a healthy quarterback to finish the game.
San Fran was 13-7 ATS last year on the heels of 12-8 in 2021, so it has been a good bet to cover the spread. According to BetMGM Sportsbook (there are no BetMGM California bonus code offers), the 49ers are one of the Super Bowl favorites at +850. They are 3-point favorites on the road in the opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McVay earned some leeway with Rams fans by winning Super Bowl LVI over the Bengals, but the fall was mighty last year. They went from 12-5 to 5-12 thanks to some key injuries, but another similar season could put him in hot water. The team was 6-9-2 ATS last year, compared to 10-11 in the Super Bowl year.
The Rams didn’t get a lot better in the offseason, as the preseason over-under odds for victories has them slotted at 6.5. That fits with their season-opening odds, as BetMGM has the Rams a 5.5-point underdogs on the road at the Seattle Seahawks.
