Champion Gaming (TSX-V:WAGR) Group Inc revealed that EdjSports, the company’s sports intelligence firm leveraging its analytical models and win probability applications, has named Green Bay Packers' Head Coach Matt LaFleur, as its 2021 EdjSports Coach of the Year.
This marks the second consecutive year LaFleur has won the award.
Meanwhile, Colts' Head Coach Frank Reich, who was in the top spot through Week 17, finished second. Chargers' Head Coach Brandon Staley, who finished first in CCI (Offensive Play Calling Ranking), came in third overall. The company said Chiefs' Head Coach Andy Reid, and Bills' Head Coach Sean McDermott round out the Top Five in the 2021 EdjSports Coach Rankings.
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The bottom five this year include Giants' Head Coach Joe Judge at No. 32, Steelers' Head Coach Mike Tomlin at No. 31, Texans' Head Coach David Culley at No. 30, Vikings' Head Coach Mike Zimmer at No. 29, and Saints' Head Coach Sean Payton at No. 28.
"Matt LaFleur repeats as our Coach of the Year," said Frank Frigo, Champion Gaming's chief innovation officer and co-founder of EdjSports. "Despite a number of key injuries, the Packers still managed to finish the season with an excellent 13-4 record. LaFleur's accuracy in 4th down decision making was remarkably consistent with last season when he also received Coach of the Year honors.”
Frigo noted that LaFleur was one of only two coaches (Andy Reid being the other) that finished in the top 8 in both EPI (Edj power index measuring team performance) and CCI (Critical call index measuring 4th down decisions).
“While his overall rankings were slightly off the levels of the 2020-2021 season, this was more a reflection of the rising tide of analytics in the NFL. Congratulations Coach LaFleur!,” Frigo added.
The company explained that the EdjSports Coach of the Year rankings is created using two proprietary data models:
Edj Power Indexes (EPI) Ranking: This is a cumulative ranking of the Edj Power Indexes (EPIs) including Offensive Pass, Offensive Rush, Defensive Pass and Defensive Rush. This ranking reflects how teams performed in every situation during the season.
Offensive Play Calling (CCI) Ranking: This ranking is based on an analysis of offensive play calling on 4th downs and compares teams in terms of GWC (Game Winning Call) lost or gained, on a normalized basis, so that all teams are given the same test. Additionally, the CCI rankings are adjusted to account for the frequency and situational nature of critical calls to allow for fair comparisons of all 32 teams.
In addition to the EdjSports Coach of the Year, this year EdjSports unveiled its 2021 Coach Awards:
- Confident but Weak (High CCI low EPI) - Dan Campbell
- Scared but Strong (Low CCI and High EPI) - Bill Belichick
- Rookie HC of the Year - Nick Sirianni
- Comeback Coach of the Year (best improvement) - Mike Vrabel
- Moving On Up Award (most promising outlook) - Dan Campbell
- Fine Work Award (most middle of the pack award) - Vic Fangio
- Grace Under Fire Award (coach who made the gutsiest call and took a lot of flak for it) - Brandon Staley
- "It was time to make a change" (coaching in memoriam - best of fired coaches) - Matt Nagy
- Kept Fighting Out There (coach we are most proud of) - Brandon Staley
- Home Field Protector (best call was at home) - John Harbaugh, Week 2 vs. Kansas City
- Road Warrior (best call was on the road) - Matt LaFleur, Week 8 at Arizona
Armed with an umbrella of brands like Edjsports, Football Outsiders, and EdjVarsity, Champion Gaming (TSX-V:WAGR) is a top sports intelligence destination for bettors, teams, and media companies.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive