There’s plenty of optimism surrounding Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson as he’s entering his first season. Johnson is one of the NFL’s most brilliant offensive minds and was part of the culture shift with the Detroit Lions.
Now, Johnson comes to Chicago looking to get the NFL’s charter franchise back to its winning ways in arguably the league’s best division. Johnson has a well-rounded staff, a talented young quarterback and a wealth of talent around him to make waves in just Year 1.
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CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin released his 2025 head coach rankings, which features three tiers: Unproven or underwhelming, serviceable veterans and the cream of the crop. Johnson rightfully ranked among the unproven tier at 24th overall in the NFL.
After years as the NFL’s hottest coaching candidate, lending all kinds of aggressive play-calling to the rival Lions’ turnaround, Johnson has the pieces to do something meaningful in Chi-Town. The key will be tapping into Caleb Williams’ gifts while also keeping the gunslinger in check, which is a balance previous regimes couldn’t manage with their own quarterback projects.
For what it’s worth, Johnson ranks first among first-time head coaches and third overall among the new head coach hirings this cycle (with Mike Vrabel and Pete Carroll ranking ahead of him at 16th and 17th, respectively). While it might seem a tad low, Johnson has yet to prove himself as a head coach. Johnson could no doubt shoot up in these rankings by this time next year.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Where Bears’ Ben Johnson ranks among NFL head coaches in 2025