Flipping the Bears from 5-12 to NFC North champs in his first season got Ben Johnson in the mix for NFL Coach of the Year.
He was named as one of five finalists Thursday along with the Patriots' Mike Vrabel, the Seahawks' Mike Macdonald, the Jaguars' Liam Coen and the 49ers' Kyle Shanahan. Voting is conducted by the Associated Press, and the winner will be announced at the NFL Honors on Feb. 5.
Vrabel and Macdonald could meet in the Super Bowl next month. The Patriots are at the Broncos on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, and the Seahawks host the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
Vrabel, the favorite most of this season, took over a Patriots team that went 4-13 each of the last two seasons and led them to a league-best 14-3 record. The Broncos and Seahawks also went 14-3.
The Seahawks went 9-8 in 2022 and '23, then 10-7 last season when Macdonald arrived. Their only losses this season were to the 49ers, Buccaneers and Rams by a total of nine points.
The Bears hadn't had a winning season since 2018 when Johnson arrived, and he led them to 11-6 and the North title. They won their first playoff game since the 2010 season by beating the Packers in the wild-card round, then lost 20-17 in overtime to the Rams in the divisional round.
