Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

NFL Coach of the Year odds predict huge turnaround for one team

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated May 17, 2025 11:05 AM ET

At least one team in the NFL makes a massive turnaround every season, and oddsmakers seem to think that team will be the Chicago Bears in 2025.

The Bears fired former head coach Matt Eberflus midway through last season. They lost 10 of their final 11 games to finish 5-12, but there is renewed hope in Chicago with former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson now at the helm.

DraftKings Sportsbook has released odds for which coach will win the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award this upcoming season. Johnson is the favorite at +700, followed by first-year New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at +850.

Ben Johnson is the early favorite to win Coach of the Year entering his first season as an NFL HC pic.twitter.com/5C2cWotMN9
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) May 17, 2025

Johnson is viewed as one of the brightest offensive minds in football. The Bears hope he will get the most out of former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. Many people believe it will happen, which is reflected in the Coach of the Year odds.

Williams finished with 3,451 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions in his rookie season last year. The Bears have a solid core of skill players, including D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and D'Andre Swift. The Lions were consistently one of the best offensive teams in the NFL under Johnson, so the optimism makes sense.

The Bears have not had a season above .500 since 2018. If Johnson can change that, he will have a great chance to bring home some hardware at the end of the year.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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