Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach of the Chicago Bears came to a close with last weekend’s divisional-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but he could still walk off into the offseason with some NFL award hardware.
The Bears officially announced on January 22 that Johnson is one of five finalists for the Associated Press 2025 NFL Coach of the Year award, sending out a prideful three-word message across their social media accounts to show their support for him.
“That’s our coach,” the Bears wrote on X following Thursday’s announcement.
Johnson guided the Bears to an 11-6 record and their first playoff win since the 2010 postseason — over the Green Bay Packers — during his first season on the job. He also helped quarterback Caleb Williams — 2024’s No. 1 overall pick — take the next step in his development and boasted a top-10 offensive unit in all four major categories.
Johnson will vie for the award against tough competition, though. The other finalists include Mike Vrabel (New England), Mike Macdonald (Seattle), Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco) and Liam Coen (Jacksonville). Coen is another first-year head coach who won the division title in 2025, while Vrabel’s Patriots are vying for a Super Bowl bid.
Johnson is the first Bears coach to finish in the top 1o voting for the NFL’s coach of the year award since Matt Nagy won the award in 2018 after his first season at the helm.
The league will announce its winners at the “NFL Honors” on February 5.
Rave Reviews for Ben Johnson’s First Year in Chicago
The Bears ultimately fell short against the Rams in the divisional round after forcing the game into overtime and putting themselves in a position to reach the NFC title game, but optimism remains high among the fans in Chicago after Johnson’s first campaign.
Johnson’s Bears developed a reputation as the “comeback kids” of the NFL in 2025, overcoming an 0-2 start to win 11 of their final 15 games in the regular season and setting an NFL record with six fourth-quarter comebacks on the season. They also added a seventh comeback win against the Green Bay Packers in the NFL playoffs.
Johnson also seemed to understand the assignment when it came to the Packers. He taunted Packers head coach Matt LaFleur in his introductory press conference and then defeated his team in the latter two of their three engagements, seizing the NFC North crown with the first victory and ending the Packers’ 2025 season with the second.
The fans in Chicago will just about build you a statue for that feat alone.
Johnson’s success may not result in him winning the NFL’s annual coaching award, but Bears fans have plenty to excite them about the future as he prepares for Year 2.
Ben Johnson May Need to Replace Multiple Coaches
During his end-of-season news conference, Johnson made it clear that his Bears are not heading into the 2026 offseason with plans to “build” on what they achieved in 2025.
“There’s no building off of this, we’re back to square one,” Johnson said on January 21. “We’re back at the bottom again. … We gotta start from scratch and the fundamentals.”
For Johnson, “square one” will also mean hiring at least one new coach to his staff.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to hire Bears running backs coach Eric Bieniemy as their next offensive coordinator, bringing him back to the post he held from 2018 to 2022 as Nagy’s replacement for 2026. He did fine work with the Bears in 2025, helping D’Andre Swift achieve career-high yardage.
The Bears have also received interview requests for offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Al Harris. The Green Bay Packers have set their sights on Harris as a candidate for their defensive coordinator vacancy, while the Philadelphia Eagles are interested in Doyle as a candidate for their OC job.
If all three coaches depart, Johnson could have a busy few weeks rebuilding his staff.
Bears Announce Ben Johnson News Amid Offseason Changes