Ranking the NFL Coach of the Year Candidates at the End of the Regular Season

With the conclusion of the NFL regular season, all eyes will turn to the NFL playoffs beginning this Saturday. Unfortunately, the playoffs won't have any affect on which coach brings home the honor of being the 2012 NFL Coach of the Year.

There have been plenty of candidates throughout the year, but the following seven coaches have separated themselves as the most likely to win this award. Here are our rankings for NFL Coach of the Year candidates at the end of the regular season.

7. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans

Team Record: 12-4

After looking like a lock to have home-field advantage a few weeks ago, the Houston Texans have fallen to the No. 3 spot in the AFC with back-to-back losses to finish the season. Still, Gary Kubiak has done a great job with this team and has an outside shot to win the NFL Coach of the Year.

The Texans have boasted one of the league's most balanced offenses behind the great play of Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub. However, it is the defense that has truly led the Texans to becoming such a dominant team.

J.J. Watt has been a legitimate MVP candidate for the majority of the year, and it doesn't stop there for this Texans defense. They have playmakers all over the field that have allowed them to be a top-10 defense in terms of points allowed and yards allowed this season.

While the odds of Kubiak winning this award have shrunk drastically over the last two weeks, his season has been so good that he still gets a spot in our rankings.

6. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons

Team Record: 13-3

Despite finishing the season tied for the best record in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, Mike Smith and the Atlanta Falcons simply don't feel like one of the best teams in the NFL.

I'm not saying they aren't a talented team, but it certainly seems like they've overachieved to lock up home-field advantage in the NFC. Sure, they have a dangerous offense with Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez, but who has this team really beat this year?

They beat the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins early in the season when both teams were still getting their footing. Atlanta also beat the New York Giants a few weeks back, but that Giants team had already started to fall apart.

Simply put, the Falcons have a great record, but they wouldn't have that record had they played a more difficult schedule. With the roster that Atlanta has built, Smith should have be a perennial favorite to win the Coach of the Year award.

5. Bruce Arians, Indianapolis Colts

Team Record: 11-5

As far as good stories go this season, none has been as good as Bruce Arians, Chuck Pagano and the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts were a team that no one expected to win more than a handful of games. This became even more true when Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia. However, Indianapolis turned to Arians, and he led this team to a 9-3 record while serving as interim head coach.

It was one of the most touching things we've seen in the league in a long time and certainly won't go unnoticed to those who vote for this award. Unfortunately, being a head coach for only 12 games is what will ultimately cause Arians to come up short as Coach of the Year this season.

4. John Fox, Denver Broncos

Team Record: 13-3

Last week, John Fox was atop our power rankings for NFL Coach of the Year. While the Denver Broncos won in Week 17, Fox somehow managed to drop three spots, which on the surface doesn't make sense.

However, with the three coaches ahead of him all winning their final game, plus the fact that their teams have been more surprising this year, Fox lands in the No. 4 spot in our final rankings. This shouldn't take away from what Fox has done as a head coach this season because he has been fantastic.

He continues to be underrated in terms of the job he has done in transitioning from an offense built around Tim Tebow to an offense built around Peyton Manning. All the while, he's maintained the play of one of the better overall defenses in the league.

Had this NFL season not been so surprising in terms of teams coming out of nowhere to be successful, Fox would be running away with this award.

3. Leslie Frazier, Minnesota Vikings

Team Record: 10-6

What ultimately takes away from Leslie Frazier's season as a head coach is the fact that he has Adrian Peterson on his team. Peterson has just been so unbelievably good this season that it has taken away from the job that Frazier has done.

This is unfortunate because Frazier as really done an incredible job this year. He took a team that was expected to dwell in the NFC cellar all year and turned them into a playoff team.

This is a team that is riding a four-game winning streak into the playoffs, which should scare every team in their conference. Many expected Frazier to spend the majority of the season on the hot seat, but not only is his chair extremely cold right now, he also has a great chance at winning the Coach of the Year award this season.

2. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks

Team Record: 11-5

The only reason that Pete Carroll lands at our No. 2 spot this season is because no one really expected the Seattle Seahawks to be terrible this season. Sure, no one knew what to expect once Russell Wilson became the starting quarterback, but everyone knew just how dangerous the defense for Seattle was going to be this year.

With that said, Carroll has done a marvelous job at molding this team into a legitimate championship contender. In fact, there isn't another team in the league that is as frightening as the Seahawks right now.

They've won five games in a row by a combined score of 193-60. No team is as hot as Seattle, and that is in large part to the fantastic coaching of Carroll.

1. Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins

Team Record: 10-6

Our favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year in 2012 is Mike Shanahan. While his record may not be as good as any other coach on this list, his achievements this season have been outstanding.

For starters, Shanahan has led the Washington Redskins to the playoffs. Once again, so has every other coach in our rankings, but the Redskins literally came out of nowhere late in the season to steal away the NFC East.

After starting the year 3-6, Washington has won seven straight games, including two wins against the Dallas Cowboys and a win over the Baltimore Ravens. He's tailored his team to play to its strengths, including running an offense through Robert Griffin III that no one expected to work in the NFL.

No coach has done more with less this year than Shanahan, which is why he'll likely win the top honors for a coach in 2012.