The Bears have a new coach, and that coach is expected to be successful.
Chicago hired within the division this offseason, nabbing Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to take over its outfit.
Johnson created a dominant offense in Detroit during his tenure there, and the Bears are hoping the same formula will work in their building.
Check out the early odds for next season’s Coach of the Year at FanDuel Sportsbook as of Feb. 27.
NFL Coach of the Year 2025 odds
Ben Johnson: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Mike Vrabel: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Liam Coen: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Pete Carroll: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Mike MacDonald: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Dave Canales: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Kellen Moore: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Aaron Glenn: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Jonathan Gannon: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Jim Harbaugh: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
The top four names on the oddsboard are new faces in new places, with two of those names representing veteran coaches making a comeback into the NFL coaching ranks and the other two being first-time head coaches.
But no new coaching name is bigger than Johnson’s heading into next season.
Johnson spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator for the Lions, and during that time, the Detroit offense became a juggernaut.
It finished fourth in total offense in 2022 (380), third in 2023 (394.8) and second in 2024 (409.5). In addition, the Lions led the league in points per game (33.2) this past season.
Now, Johnson will join forces with the No. 1 pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, Caleb Williams. And according to the Bears’ new head coach, he and his new QB are already finding a rhythm when it comes to communication.
The Bears have finished last in the NFC North in each of the last three seasons, putting together an overall record of 15-36 over that time span.
After beginning last season 4-2, Chicago went 1-10 over its last 11 games.
Second on the board is Vrabel, who will take over in New England after Jerod Mayo was fired after just one season as the Patriots’ head coach.
As a player, Vrabel won three rings with the Patriots and is a member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.
As a head coach, he spent six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, from 2018-2023, compiling a 54-45 overall record.
The Titans made three playoff appearances under Vrabel before enduring losing seasons in each of his final two years with the franchise.
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