PFF just made a head-scratching Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur decision Bears fans won’t be happy about
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson just got plenty of motivation to continue igniting his rivalry against Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur after the latest PFF head coach rankings.
The rivalry between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers got hotter than ever before when Ben Johnson first stepped up to the podium as the new head coach for the Bears last year.
Immediately on his first day on the job, Johnson took a jab at Packers head coach Matt LaFleur mentioning how he enjoyed beating him twice a year while serving as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions and insinuating that will be something that will continue in his new role.
Johnson followed up on that promise, beating LaFleur in two of the three meetings between the Bears and Packers from last season. Not only that, he flipped the entire culture in Chicago while leading the team to an 11-win record and an NFC North title. Yet, the national media still has a preference between the two and frankly it makes zero sense.
Ben Johnson left off PFF’s Top-10 head coach rankings, while Matt LaFleur was listed sixth
Over the weekend, Pro Football Focus ranked their Top-10 head coaches going into the 2026 season. Somehow, Ben Johnson was left off that list while two other NFC North head coaches made the list, including LaFleur. I’m sure Johnson won’t take time out of his day to even glance that list, but if he did, he would be livid.
Johnson, in one year, proved to be one of the top coaches in the league. Beyond the record and division title, Johnson transformed a losing culture into a winning culture in just a few months on the job with the bulk of the roster being inherited players. He didn’t take over a championship team with a championship quarterback like LaFleur did in Green Bay, who frankly couldn’t get over the hump with it and has since regressed with the quarterback he wanted to groom into his long-term starter.
Johnson came into Chicago with basically a rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams with a roster full of players that haven’t experienced what it means to win meaningful games. That didn’t matter. What Johnson did with the bottom of the roster was even more impressive when looking at his resume.
Each week, the Bears had a new unsung hero winning games whether it was Josh Blackwell’s blocked field goal, Jake Moody’s clutch kicking in nasty weather on short notice, Jahdae Walker’s game-tying touchdown despite limited experience, or Jordan McFadden stepping in for his first start of the season in the playoffs. It was magical stuff and it’s all thanks to Johnson and his staff believing in those players in critical moments.
Winning 11 games, claiming the division title, and hosting two playoff games was just icing on top for what Johnson could have achieved. And yet, he’s not a Top-10 head coach?
Only Matt LaFleur can go from being on the hot seat to being viewed as a Top-10 head coach
It was only a few months ago that people were seriously considering whether or not the Packers were going to can LaFleur and I’m in the belief that they should have.
When LaFleur took over with the Packers, Green Bay had three strong seasons with Aaron Rodgers at the helm winning three straight division titles with 13-win seasons. Since then, the Packers have had one double-digit win season in four years and had three straight seasons as the No. 7 seed. That’s not improvement.
Head-to-head as a coach, Ben Johnson out-classed Matt LaFleur last season and the only thing Packers fans can say for themselves is “Oh, but we lost Micah Parsons.” If LaFleur really was a Top-10 coach, he would have found a way to overcome that injury, like other good coaches did (for example Johnson was coaching without Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, his top two defenders, for essentially half the season). Instead, LaFleur lost six consecutive games to end the season after losing Parsons, including two against Johnson.
It makes no sense to me how a coach who many thought would have been fired deserves to make this list and Johnson doesn’t even crack it. And don’t get me started on Dan Campbell, who had his worst coaching season in the first year without Johnson since his first year in Detroit without Johnson as his coordinator. That’s not a coincidence either.