Ben Johnson was named Head Coach of the Chicago Bears on January 21, 2025, becoming the 18th full-time Head Coach in the franchise's history.
In his first season as Head Coach of the Bears, Johnson led Chicago to an NFC North Division title and 12 total wins, including 11 in the regular season. Johnson became the first Head Coach in franchise history to win a postseason game in their first year at the helm, as his 12 victories tied for the most by a first-year Head Coach in the history of the Chicago Bears.
Johnson's offense finished the regular season with the fewest giveaways in the NFL (11), and the second-most points scored off of takeaways in the league (104). The Bears registered the NFL's No. 3-ranked rushing offense in 2025 (144.5 rushing yards per game), as the unit's 127 Big Plays were the second-most by any team in the league. Over the final 10 weeks of the regular season, Chicago amassed 109 points in the fourth quarter and OT, the most by any team in the NFL. The Bears culminated the regular season with 441 points scored, third-most in a single season in franchise history.
Under Johnson's leadership, QB Caleb Williams set a franchise record with 3,942 passing yards in the regular season, adding a 361-yard passing performance in the NFC Wild Card Round win over Green Bay, a single-game club record in the postseason. Williams led the Bears to an NFL-best seven fourth-quarter comebacks in 2025 (postseason included), a single-season franchise record by a QB and tied for the second-most by any player in a season in league history. Rookie TE Colston Loveland finished the postseason with 193 receiving yards, the most by a rookie tight end in a single postseason since at least 1960. Veteran DB Kevin Byard III earned AP First-Team All-Pro honors and was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with seven interceptions. RB D'Andre Swift (1,087) and rookie RB Kyle Monangai (783) helped Chicago become the only offense in the league with two 750-plus-yard rushers in the NFL in 2025, utilizing the support of First-Team AP All-Pro OL Joe Thuney, Second-Team AP All-Pro OL Darnell Wright and Pro Bowl OL Drew Dalman.
Defensively, the Chicago Bears culminated the regular season with an NFL-best 33 takeaways, including 23 INTs, for a league-leading +22 turnover differential. Chicago's +22 turnover differential registered as the third-best in a single season by the Bears since at least 1960. Chicago became the first NFL team to lead the league in both takeaways (33) and fewest amountof giveaways (11) since 2011 (S.F.), becoming the first Bears team to do so since 1963. The Bears closed out the regular season with a streak of 10-straight games with a takeaway, the best in the NFL to culminate the season and the longest streak for the Bears since 2008. Chicago's defense held opposing offenses to just 13 points scored on their opening drive during the regular season No. 1 in the NFL.
In the NFC Wild Card Round, Johnson led the Bears to an 18-point comeback victory over the Packers, the largest postseason comeback in the NFL since 2022, the fourth-largest comeback overall in team history (postseason included) and the largest postseason comeback in franchise history. Johnson's offense scored 25 points in the fourth quarter of the comeback victory over Green Bay, the second-most fourth-quarter points scored in a postseason game since at least 1991.
Johnson joined the Bears after serving as Offensive Coordinator (2022-24) for the Detroit Lions,where he led one of the most prolific offenses in the National Football League. Named AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2024, Johnson's offensive unit averaged a franchise-record 409.5 yards per game, helping the Lions average a league-high 32.4 points per game and accumulate 68 total offensive touchdowns – the most by any team in the NFL. Each of his three seasons coordinating Detroit's offense (2022-24), Johnson's group has finished in the top-five in the league in total offense each year, including a No. 2 ranking in 2024. Over the last two seasons (2023-24), no unit has averaged more points per game (30.1) or net yards per game (402.2) than Johnson's offensive unit with the Detroit Lions.
Following his promotion to Offensive Coordinator in 2022, Johnson helped the Lions secure eight wins out of their last 10 matchups to close out the year. One season later (2023), Johnson's group finished No. 3 in the NFL in total offense (394.8) and No. 2 in passing offense (258.9), finishing the season in the NFC Championship Game and as a finalist for AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. With the aid of Johnson's leadership of the offense, Detroit accumulated a franchise-record 15 regular-season wins in 2024, ranking No. 2 in the NFL in both total offense (409.5) and passing offense (263.3), while owning the third-best red-zone touchdown percentage (69.4 pct.) and fourth-best third-down conversion rate (47.6) in the league. Johnson spent six total seasons with the Lions, starting in 2019 in an Offensive Quality Control capacity, before being elevated to Tight Ends Coach in 2020, holding that role for two seasons. In his first seasons coaching the tight ends, Johnson's tutelage helped second-year TE T.J. Hockenson earn his first-career Pro Bowl selection after ranking top-five in the league in receiving yards (third), receiving first downs (third) and receptions (fourth) among tight ends.
Prior to Detroit, Johnson served seven seasons on the staff of the Miami Dolphins, working under three different head coaches. Over his seven years in Miami, Johnson worked in the capacities of Offensive Assistant (2012), Assistant Quarterbacks Coach (2013-15), Tight Ends Coach (2015), Assistant Wide Receivers Coach (2016-17) and Wide Receivers Coach (2018).
Working with the Dolphins wide receivers, Johnson aided a group that featured Pro Bowl WR Jarvis Landry who set a franchise-record with an NFL-best 112 receptions in 2017, one season after helping Miami secure 10 wins and reach the postseason. As Wide Receivers Coach in 2018, Johnson helped guide WR Albert Wilson to accumulate an average of 12.9 yards after catch, the second-highest rate among all NFL players.
Prior to his time with the wide receivers, Johnson served as Assistant Quarterbacks Coach (2013-15), before being promoted to Tight Ends Coach following staff realignment in 2015. In 2014, QB Ryan Tannehill became just the second Dolphins passer to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season. Starting with the Dolphins as an Offensive Assistant in 2012, Johnson aided a unit that ranked fourth in the AFC in rushing touchdowns (15).
Johnson entered the coaching ranks as a Graduate Assistant at Boston College (2009-10), spending three years in Chestnut Hill, including the 2011 season as Tight Ends Coach.
A native of Asheville, N.C., Johnson was a walk-on quarterback at the University of North Carolina, earning degrees in mathematics and computer science. Johnson and his wife, Jessica, have three children – Emory, Kennedy and Halle.
