Ben Johnson found immense success in his first season as head coach of the Chicago Bears, so it’s no surprise that he’s nominated for the AP’s Coach of the Year award (which will be announced Thursday night at the NFL Honors).
While there’s sometimes a clear-cut winner among the nominees, that’s not the case this year among a pool of first-year head coaches who’ve taken their teams from worst to first to veteran coaches who have exceeded expectations amid adversity. So why does Johnson deserve to win?
The Bears from worst to first, in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, going from 5-12 to 11-6 in Johnson’s first season. Chicago earned their first NFC North title since 2018 and ultimately their first postseason win in 15 years in what was a thrilling wild-card win over the rival Green Bay Packers.
Johnson completely overhauled the culture within the Bears locker room, challenging his players in ways they weren’t during the Matt Eberflus era. Johnson’s team bought into his “Good, Better, Best” mentality that made for some electric postgame locker rooms.
Johnson also took a lackluster Bears offense and made them into a top-10 unit, where they led the NFL in multiple categories including points per game (25.7), yards per game (375.7), rushing yards per game (142.3), passing yards per game (233.4) and explosive plays (127). Chicago’s defense also led the NFL in takeaways (33) and turnover differential (+21).
Johnson’s work with second-year quarterback Caleb Williams was also noteworthy, especially considering how rough things were during his rookie season. Williams went from being the most sacked quarterback (68) to the least sacked (24), thanks in large part to his escapability as much as the improvements along the offensive line. Williams also established himself as one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the league, leading an NFL record seven fourth-quarter comebacks (including the playoffs).
“He’s been a catalyst for us,” Williams said after the season. “To be able to lead us, to be able to stand strong in tough moments and good moments, to be able to show emotion, be able to be who he is and be consistent with that and do what he said he was going to do, he’s been everything that Chicago’s needed as a coach.”
Whether Johnson ultimately wins remains to be seen, where his biggest competition is New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who took the Patriots from four wins to the Super Bowl in just one year. That might ultimately be enough to give him the edge over Johnson. But there’s no denying the impact that Johnson made in just one season, where for the first time in decades, it feels like the Bears are headed in the right direction.
Who are the AP Coach of the Year nominees?
The nominees for the NFL’s Coach of the Year award include Liam Coen (Jacksonville Jaguars), Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears), Mike Macdonald (Seattle Seahawks), Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers) and Mike Vrabel (New England Patriots).
Bears’ past coaches to win Coach of the Year
Ben Johnson is looking to become the sixth Bears coach to win Coach of the Year honors. Previous winners include George Halas (1963, 1965), Mike Ditka (1985, 1988), Dick Jauron (2001), Lovie Smith (2005) and Matt Nagy (2018).
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears’ Ben Johnson deserves to win NFL’s Coach of the Year
