Alright, I’ll admit it — that headline is a little dramatic and designed to grab attention. Sometimes you have to play the page-view game to bring more readers to all the great offseason work our team at Windy City Gridiron has been putting together.
There’s a lot of Bears coverage being produced. Ken’s daily Ken’s Den remains a staple. Earlier this week we ran two opposing pieces about Dexter Lawrence — one arguing the Chicago Bears should pursue him and another suggesting they should stay away. Bryan’s running back film breakdown series has already reached its fourth installment. Gary recently finished a detailed analysis of Caleb Williams, while Johnathan has just begun his own deep dive. On top of that, the 2nd City Gridiron podcast and video channels are currently rolling out Taylor’s yearly NFL Draft series, which highlights prospects who could eventually land with Chicago.
In other words, there’s no shortage of Bears coverage here every day, both from our writers and through the content collected in The Feed.
The situation isn’t nearly as negative as the headline might suggest. Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports actually placed Ben Johnson 13th overall among the 22 head coaches he ranked. Newly hired head coaches weren’t officially included in the ranking list, although he still offered commentary about them afterward.
Here’s the essence of what Daugherty had to say about Johnson.
In today’s NFL media environment, bold labels get thrown around constantly, especially phrases like “offensive genius” or “franchise savior.” Johnson arrived in Chicago with expectations tied to both of those labels — and he exceeded them. One of his primary responsibilities was helping stabilize Williams, and the results were striking: the rookie quarterback’s sack total dropped dramatically from 68 to 24. At the same time, Chicago’s offense made a major leap, improving from 26th to seventh in EPA per play. The team also scored 131 more points than the previous season, rising from 28th to ninth in total scoring.
In short, the offensive issues were addressed.
The next challenge for Chicago was to stop being an easy target within the highly competitive NFC North. Johnson’s team responded by winning the division, securing the conference’s No. 2 seed, and defeating their longtime rival, the Green Bay Packers, with a dramatic Wild Card comeback victory. It’s only been one season, but the Bears are no longer viewed as a laughingstock.
Daugherty did note that Chicago benefited from several narrow victories in 2025, including multiple one-score games and even a few decided by a single point. He suggested that some statistical regression is possible, something that eventually affects even top players and coaches. Following up such a strong first year will be significantly tougher.
Still, Johnson appears well equipped for the challenge. Unlike some offensive-minded head coaches who only focus on play-calling, he also establishes the tone and culture for the entire roster. Because of that broader leadership role, Daugherty believes Johnson is positioned to continue building on the early success. In the unpredictable NFL, it’s always risky to draw conclusions too quickly — history offers plenty of examples of early hype fading — but Johnson’s trajectory in Chicago looks promising.
Of course, the familiar narrative quickly surfaced: the idea that the Bears were simply “lucky.”
Maybe.
But after laying out just how dramatically the offense improved under Johnson, immediately attributing success to luck feels a bit dismissive.
There’s an old saying that luck occurs when preparation meets opportunity. If that’s the case, it’s hard to imagine the 2026 Bears being any less prepared to execute Johnson’s system than they were in 2025.
On defense, the team might not generate as many turnovers as it did last season, but the unit could still improve overall during its second year under coordinator Dennis Allen.
In Daugherty’s rankings, Johnson finished behind three NFC North coaches: Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings at No. 12, Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers at No. 10, and Johnson’s former mentor Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions at No. 8.
And honestly, placing Johnson just behind those three makes sense. They’re all excellent head coaches with significantly more experience leading their teams. The NFC North was extremely competitive in 2025, and there’s every reason to believe that level of competition will continue moving forward.
