How The NFL Just Royally Screwed Up By Snubbing Ben Johnson
The NFL held its annual Honors award ceremony this week ahead of the Super Bowl. For the first time in what feels like years, the Chicago Bears were well-represented. Left guard Joe Thuney won the brand new Protector Of The Year award, recognizing the best offensive lineman in football. Then D.J. Moore claimed the Moment Of The Year award for his thrilling overtime touchdown catch to beat the Green Bay Packers in December. Everybody was having a great night. Everyone except head coach Ben Johnson.
He, too, was up for an award. That being the Coach Of The Year. It was well-deserved after taking the Bears from 5-12 in 2025 to 11-6 and winning the NFC North championship. To no one’s surprise, Vrabel won the award, having taken the New England Patriots back to the Super Bowl. The far bigger shock was how many votes Johnson got, or in this case didn’t get. Out of 50 possible first-place votes, Vrabel received 19. Johnson received one.
As snubs go, it was easily one of the most shocking of the entire night.
Dismissing a known psychotic competitor like Ben Johnson seems unwise.
Michael Jordan had the reputation of going out of his way to find any possible means of motivation. That included literally inventing stories in his head about someone disrespecting him. It was how he kept his razor-sharp mental edge. People around have said the same things about Johnson. If you give him any incentive at all to feel disrespected, he’ll spend every hour of the day searching for ways to make you regret it. As these voting results go. He has a legitimate beef with the NFL.
| Accomplishments | Liam Coen | Ben Johnson |
| Record of rest of the division | 23-29 | 27-23-1 |
| Offensive ranking | 11th | 6th |
| Weeks missed with injuries | 98 | 160 |
| Playoff record | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| First round picks on the roster | 8 | 4 |
Ben Johnson not winning the award is fine. It was a stacked category this year. Yet to say his accomplishments were worth only one vote is insulting. The Bears were a laughingstock last season, rife with internal division and lacking direction. Most experts felt it would take at least a year before any head coach could get them back to any semblance of competitiveness. Johnson did it immediately, and after a 0-2 start, no less. It was an even better coaching job than what Matt Nagy did in 2018 when he won Coach of the Year.
The NFL just gave Johnson all the incentive he needs.
He was already motivated for next year. The Bears narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the divisional round. If not for a tough interception, it would’ve been Chicago playing Seattle in the NFC Championship for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Ben Johnson knows this team has been blooded. They’ve tasted success and want more. It is his job to push them harder than ever, making sure they don’t lose focus. That loss alone would’ve been enough.
For the NFL media to outright insult him like this is like pouring gas on a wildfire. It may not consume Johnson every day, but make no mistake. It will be in the back of his mind moving forward. If nothing else, Bears fans should feel fortunate he didn’t win the award. Not only will it give him extra incentive to make the league pay, but it will also avoid a curse that has haunted the team for many years.
Bad things tend to happen to the Bears a year after their coach wins Coach of the Year.
- Went 5-9 after George Halas won in 1963
- Mike Ditka won in 1988 and went 6-10 the next year
- Went 4-12 after Dick Jauron’s win in 2001
- Lost the Super Bowl a year after Lovie Smith won in 2005
- Matt Nagy never had a winning record again after his 2018 win
This is probably the best outcome the team could’ve hoped for.