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PFF Leaves Ben Johnson Behind Matt LaFleur and Dan Campbell in New Ranking

PFF left Ben Johnson out of its top 10 NFL coaches after the Bears won the NFC North, handing Chicago fresh disrespect to carry into the 2026 season.
Gene Chamberlain|
Ben Johnson has done some remarkable things as Bears coach but apparently not enough to be top 10 at his job ... or is he?
Ben Johnson has done some remarkable things as Bears coach but apparently not enough to be top 10 at his job ... or is he? | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Leonte Carroo created a small stir a month ago when he recalled Ben Johnson as a Dolphins assistant trying to motivate Jarvis Landry.

The story went that Johnson announced during this rant how he planned to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame some day. This happened back when he said he was leaving the practice facility at 1 a.m. and returning for work at 5 a.m. Johnson was let go later on by the Dolphins when they had a coaching change.

There is no one who can question Johnson's motivation or ability to generate an emotional pitch with a team after last season in Chicago, Because of this and his ability to transform two teams' offenses now, Johnson would have to be considered somewhere among the league's best at what he does after only one year. He was, after all, one of five nominees for coach of the year last year.

Johnson should be even more motiviated now after a ranking by the analytics website Pro Football Focus. They came out with their annual offseason top 10 NFL coaches list and even after an 11-6 rookie year, a division title, two wins over the hated Packers as he had promised, and getting within an overtime field goal of making the NFC Championship Game with a second-year passer, Johnson did not make the top-10 list.

A low ranking?

Bradley Locker of PFF has Johnson ranked below at least two other NFC North coaches, let alone the top coaches in the league. Locker put Sean McVay No. 1 after a loss in the NFC Championship Game and a tight, even lucky win over the Bears the previous week. Andy Reid is No. 2 and Kyle Shanahan No. 3. Mike Macdonald is No. 4, and third in his own division even after winning the Super Bowl handily.

Maybe the most stinging part for Johnson is his former boss, Dan Campbell, is fifth and Packers coach Matt LaFleur is sixth. It's difficult to rank Johnson ahead of Campbell when the Lions beat the Bears both games last year, but then again Detroit finished in last. LaFleur has not won a division title since 2021 and has a 3-6 postseason record. He has lost his last three playoff games. Campbell didn't get in the playoffs last yearyear, and the Packers lost 2-of-3 to the Bears.

Houston's DeMeco Ryans, Denver's Sean Payton, New England's Mike Vrabel and Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh are all ranked ahead of Johnson. The ranking list cuts off at 10, so perhaps Johnson doesn't even fit into the top 11 or 12 according to Locker.

Sean Payton has been a great coach in New Orleans and elevated the Broncos quickly. He did it with a quarterback no more experienced than Johnson has done it. His name on the list is understandable.

Ryans? He's built a winner in Houston with 32 wins in three years, but at some point one-and-done in the playoffs gets old. Johnson did it this season but that's just once. Ryans has done it three straight years.

Harbaugh made a Super Bowl back more than a decade ago and got into the playoffs both of his seasons after returning to the league. He hasn't won a division title since 2012, though. Johnson's division win was a little more recent.

Plenty of flaws on this top coaches list

Harbaugh has a struggling offense even with Justin Herbert as quarterback and the fact he has never had a top-10 NFL offense in six seasons coaching within the league, and only twice had offenses ranked higher than 20th calls into question whether they made the right pick here by ranking him ahead of Johnson. You can't take away his national title but the Conor Stalions, Matt Weiss and "Burger Gate" situations all point to a tarnished college career and this isn't college ball now anyway.

Then there's Vrabel, who did a remarkable job getting the Patriots to a Super Bowl upon his return as an NFL head coach, but then again they had by far the easiest schedule in the league last year and one of the easiest in history.

Since getting to the Super Bowl, it's become apparent how focused on the job Vrabel is.

Johnson definitely belongs in the top 10 based on the coaches in the bottom half of the Locker top 10. If you did a top 10 of lists ranking coaches in the league, this one wouldn't crack the top 100.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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