Bear Digest

Chicago Bears named biggest winners of the 2025 NFL coaching cycle

The Chicago Bears made the biggest splash of the NFL offseason by hiring Ben Johnson as head coach. Now, with the 2025 coaching cycle nearly complete, they’ve been crowned the biggest winners.
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With wins few and far between for the Chicago Bears in recent years, any opportunity for fans to savor a victory — no matter the form — is one they can't miss.

Hiring Ben Johnson in the 2025 NFL coaching cycle qualifies as a massive victory for a Bears franchise that always seems to get decisions like this wrong. And it's the kind of win that should pay dividends for years (and years) to come.

In a recent ranking of this offseason's biggest winners and losers from the NFL coaching cycle, it was the Chicago Bears who were dubbed the league's biggest winner.

Yes, Bears fans, it's OK to smile.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson answers questions
David Banks-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson is a dream hire by the Chicago Bears

"The Chicago Bears are the biggest winners," Bleacher Report's Maurice Moton wrote. "They brought in the top candidate among the coordinators, Ben Johnson, who interviewed for vacancies last year but decided to stay with the Detroit Lions because of unfinished business.

"The 38-year-old's arrival is a strong positive for quarterback Caleb Williams. Although he posted decent passing numbers (3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns, and six interceptions with a 62.5 percent completion rate), he didn't develop steadily through his rookie year."

Johnson bucks the trend of recent coaching hires by the Bears. Matt Eberflus followed Matt Nagy, who followed John Fox, who followed Marc Trestman.

Gross. Just... gross.

Patience may be a virtue, but in today’s sports world — fueled by social media and the demand for instant success — it feels all but extinct. Yet, some teams (and, more importantly, their fans) must endure their darkest days before finally seeing the light.

Chicago Bears fans know this struggle all too well, having weathered years of heartbreak and frustration. However, with Ben Johnson’s arrival, something feels different. For the first time in over a decade, there’s real hope. And Bears fans can feel it.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.