Bear Digest

Ben Johnson Gets Absolutely Shafted in Coach of the Year Voting

Ben Johnson not only didn't win the COTY Award... he wasn't even close to winning the honor.
Jerry Markarian|
Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during warmups before an NFC Divisional Round game against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during warmups before an NFC Divisional Round game against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

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I hope Ben Johnson has that one Michael Jordan gene that makes every slight feel like an attack on his character. I hope he 'takes it personally', so to speak.

The Coach of the Year voting results could turn Johnson into an absolute demon if that's the case.

ONE VOTE???

One vote... out of 50?? The guy who injected his franchise with a winning culture and helped them win one of the toughest divisions in the NFL in his first year at the helm earned 2% of the overall vote? He led a team that had an immeasurable level of belief, which saw them overcome some miraculous deficits.

It wasn't just that they were winning. It was how they were winning. They were clearly a team that bought into what their coach was selling.

Nevertheless, Johnson gets a pity vote. The guy who helped turn a 5-12 team (that lost ten straight games) into an 11-6 team in his first year at the helm. He helped them win their first playoff game in 15 years.

I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous.

It's so ridiculous, in fact, that I'm convinced Matt LaFleur had something to do with it. I'm convinced the 50 voters consisted of Matt LaFleur's family members. We already know his brother, Mike LaFleur, is now the head coach of the Cardinals. I demand an investigation to find out just how many other members of the LaFleur clan work for the league.

Honestly, I didn't expect Johnson to win the award. I fully expected the voters to get it wrong. Mike Vrabel did the impossible, after all. He took a team that went 4-13 last year and helped them go 14-3 this season. Oh wait, I mean... that's not that different than what Johnson did, right? Yeah, they had a few more wins, but there were definitely similarities there.

The Patriots' schedule must've been rough, though? Right? That would make the 18-vote differential make sense.

Oh.. I guess not. Well, that just doesn't make a ton of sense then, does it?

If it seems like I'm a Patriots hater to this point in the article, that's probably fair. However, that's not totally the case. Liam Coen also shouldn't have gotten 15 more votes than Ben Johnson. Not when they provided virtually the same impact for their respective franchise. Coen did earn the honor of being the most improved head coach, though. I'll give him that.

Really, the only difference between the Jaguars and Bears was that the latter won a playoff game, and they nearly won two of them.

As for the other candidates, I'm not as mad at their vote total. I've spewed enough hate, so I'm sparing them. In fact, Mike MacDonald cares so much about his job that he only sees his kid for 30 minutes a week. That level of dedication deserves at least nine votes.

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Jerry Markarian
JERRY MARKARIAN

Jerry Markarian has been an avid Chicago Bears fan since 2010 and has been writing about the team since 2022. He has survived the 2010 NFC Championship Game, a career-ending injury to his favorite player (Johnny Knox), the Bears' 2013 season finale, a Double Doink, Mitchell Trubisky, Justin Fields, and Weeks 8-17 of the 2024 NFL season. Nevertheless, he still Bears Down!

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