Ben Johnson Majorly Disrespected in Latest NFL Head Coach Rankings

Ranking Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson behind all of his divisional peers is certainly a choice.

David Banks-Imagn Images

It didn't take long for Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson to make believers out of the naysayers. Despite his sterling record as the offensive guru powering the Detroit Lions' rise to relevance, many fans and analysts wondered at the time of his hiring in Chicago whether he was simply the next Josh McDaniels: a gifted coordinator who couldn't handle a head coaching gig.

Fear not, Bears fans, for McDaniels' fate does not await you. The 2025 Chicago Bears' awakening on offense is proof of that, as is Caleb Williams' breakout season. In just one year on the job, Johnson took a team that was the division punching bag to within one completed pass of the NFC Championship game. Instead of being referred to as a quarterback graveyard, Chicago now features arguably the brightest young superstar quarterback in the NFL. That's the Ben Johnson effect.

One would think that pulling off this extreme makeover on a historically snakebitten franchise, along with clinching the 2025 NFC North championship, would make Ben Johnson a shoo-in as a Top 10 NFL head coach, but that doesn't appear to be the case. At least, not for everyone. Patrick Daugherty, a writer for NBC Sports, released his 2026 NFL head coach rankings on Tuesday, and he slotted Johnson in at No. 13.

"[The Bears] were lucky in 2025, living off one-score, and even sometimes one-point victories," Daugherty writes. "Regression comes for even the best players and coaches. The follow-up will be 10 times more difficult than the opening act. Johnson knows this, and as the rare offensive-minded coach who doesn’t just call plays but sets the tone for all 53 players, he seems perfectly suited to keep leveling up. You should never speak too soon in the NFL... but it sure seems like it won’t take long for Johnson to accomplish even greater things in Chicago."

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

First things first, this narrative that the Bears were historically lucky in 2025 needs to go away. It's just not true. Including the playoffs, the Bears were 8-5 in one-score games last year, tied for only the tenth-highest winning percentage. Sure, the Bears could regress in this category, but they could just as likely get even better.

Win percentage in one-score games in 2025…

Highest

1. Broncos: .846 (11-2)
2. 49ers: .833 (5-1)
3. Chargers: .750 (6-2)
4. Steelers: .700 (7-3)
4. Patriots: .700 (7-3)
4. Panthers: .700 (7-3)

Lowest

26. Ravens: .286 (2-5)
26. Titans: .286 (2-5)
26. Commanders: .286 (2-5)
26.…

— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) April 8, 2026

Second, ranking a head coach in the top half of the league after just one year on the job isn't itself disrespectful. What's truly disrespectful about this ranking is the fact that all three of the other NFC North head coaches are ranked ahead of Johnson: Kevin O'Connell at No. 12, Matt LaFleur at No. 10, and Dan Campbell at No. 8.

Winning the NFC North should earn an automatic spot in the Top 8

I'm going to need someone to explain to me how the division winner can be ranked below the rest of the division. Sure, some people may want to see Ben Johnson coach for more than one season before crowning him the next Sean McVay, but let's at least stick to the facts.

Fact: Dan Campbell's Lions have regressed in each of the last two seasons and may regress again in 2026. Fact: Kevin O'Connell has never won a playoff game in Minnesota. Fact: since Aaron Rodgers left Green Bay, Matt LaFleur has not won the division and is just 1-3 in the playoffs, with that one win being less a statement victory and more an inexplicable collapse by his opponent.

Maybe Daugherty sees Johnson's 2-4 record against the division as reason enough to rank him at the bottom, but that's a low blow, in my opinion. This isn't supposed to be a ranking of NFL head coaches based on division records. And Matt LaFleur was coming off an even worse divisional record (1-5) in 2024, but Daugherty still had him at No. 10 in his 2025 head coach rankings.

By winning the NFC North, a division stacked with talent from stem to stern, Johnson should be an automatic bid for a Top 8 spot in anyone's head coach rankings. But at the very least, he should rank ahead of his divisional peers.

The Bottom Line

Bears fans are surely used to this kind of disrespect from national media outlets. The Bears have been on a horrendous streak of bad luck since Lovie Smith was fired, so doubting them as a team has become almost an instinct for analysts. But these Bears are not your father's Bears, and if all goes well in 2026, this will be the last time a Chicago head coach or quarterback is so badly disrespected in anyone's rankings for a long time to come.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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