If you ask me, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson should have won Coach of the Year last season when he took a team that played like a dumpster fire in 2024 and turned them into NFC North division champions who beat the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs.
While I will never understand how Johnson got only one first place vote last season and a 29 percent share of the votes, it seems this year may be the year he actually wins Coach of the Year. According to ESPN, Johnson is the third-favorite to win Coach of the Year behind John Harbaugh with the New York Giants and Jesse Minter with the Baltimore Ravens.
This year is the second season with Johnson as head coach and calling offensive plays, and the difference from year one to
year two showed immediately in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. Chicago’s offense put up 59 points, scoring at least 14 points in each quarter for only the second time in franchise history.
Johnson’s playcalling is remarkable. He picked apart the Carolina defense all game, which is a feat in itself because the Panthers were actually predicted to be one of the best defenses in the NFL prior to this game. The balance of running the ball and attacking the defense through the air is also apparent. Quarterback Caleb Williams had 29 passing attempts while the offense as a whole had 39 rushing attempts, including 10 from Williams.
Under Johnson’s tutelage, not only has the Bears offensive line drastically improved with all of their new additions, but the run game has been elite with Chicago totaling six touchdowns in the opener. Williams has also taken things to another level since Ben Johnson became his head coach, showing just how valuable he is as a coach to this franchise.
John Harbaugh and Jesse Minter are both going into their first seasons with their respective teams. Harbaugh came into a situation not that different from Johnson last season with the franchise quarterback already established and key pieces of the offense in place. The defense was the biggest question mark although they did well against the Dallas Cowboys in the opener.
Meanwhile, Minter is coming into a situation with an MVP at quarterback and a roster that was one field goal away from winning the division and going to the playoffs. Baltimore dominated their season opener with a 41-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts. How the Giants, Ravens and Bears do throughout this season will shape how the Coach of the Year battle looks by the end of the season.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears' Ben Johnson tops list for Coach of the Year after Week 1
