RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesDETROIT,MICHIGAN-SEPTEMBER 14: Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson walks off the field at the conclusion of an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Sunday, September 14, 2025. (Photo by Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
As Bears fans, we all loved what we saw last year out of Ben Johnson. It was an offense Bears fans have dreamed about, literally their whole lives. We thought we might have had a glimpse of an offense with Marc Trestman in 2013, but that quickly derailed. Matt Nagy gave up hope, but the same collapse happened.
Ben Johnson is different. And the NFL thinks Ben Johnson is different as well.
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen put together a top ten list, similar to the lists that ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler puts out every year, using coaches and front offices to pick the best players at each position.
Nguyen’s survey was to find out who the best offensive play callers are in the NFL. It’s an exercise he’s done the last few years. He spoke with current defensive coordinators and coaches from around the league, had them anonymously rank the best offensive minds, and he published the results.
If you want to see his article in The Athletic, you can check it out here .
But here are the highlights.
Let’s not bury the lede: Ben Johnson was ranked 3rd in this survey. Ben was ranked first overall by at least one defensive coach, and the lowest he was on anyone’s rankings was 4th. The way the voting broke down, there were three names- Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, and Johnson- that clearly were ranked a cut above every other offensive play caller in the league.
Shanahan, like Johnson, was ranked first on at least one survey and no lower than fourth on any. He finished first overall. McVay also finished first on at least one survey, but his lowest ranking was sixth. Johnson, McVay, and Shanahan- two of those three names occupied the top two spots on every survey but one, where Josh McDaniels was ranked first on one person’s list.
Matt LaFleur finished fourth, Liam Coen was fifth, Andy Reid was sixth, Shane Stichen was seventh, Josh McDaniels was eighth, Klint Kubiak finished ninth, and Mike McDaniel rounded out the top ten.
In the other receiving votes category were Sean Payton, Kevin O’Connell, Drew Petzing, Brian Schottenheim, Todd Monken, and Joe Brady.
What this survey tells us in there is a new big three of offensive play callers in the league. That threesome is Johnson, Shanahan, and McVay. Shanny and McVay have been doing this a while; Johnson, however, is still ascending. The Bears have arguably the best play caller in the league, and it’s not impossible that he could claim the top spot in this survey as early as next year.
Ben Johnson is here, and the dividends are paying off already. What a time to be a Bears fan.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.