Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson earned recognition Thursday for leading a memorable season. The NFL announced that Johnson was an AP Coach of the Year finalist.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Liam Coen, Seattle Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald, San Francisco 49ers Kyle Shanahan and New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel were each also named finalists for the award. The winner will be announced that the NFL Honors ceremony set for Feb. 5 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
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Johnson earned a finalist spot after he led a remarkable turnaround with the Bears during his first season. He turned around the Bears’ culture over the offseason and took the team from one of the NFL’s worst to one of its best.
That’s our coach 😤 pic.twitter.com/AfyHZdvU8W
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 22, 2026
Chicago had some memorable moments along the way. His team had seven fourth-quarter comebacks while trailing with two minutes left in the game, including one in the playoffs. Quarterback Caleb Williams also took a major step under Johnson and Johnson transformed Chicago’s offense into one of the NFL’s best.
The Bears also had success they haven’t achieved in a while. They returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, won their first NFC North title since 2018 and earned their first playoff win in 15 years.
Matt Nagy was the last Bears head coach to win the award in 2018. Coen is also a first-year coach named a finalist while Vrabel is in his first season with the Patriots.

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