Bears coach Ben Johnson gets 'A' grade in leaked NFLPA survey
INDIANAPOLIS — After leading the Bears to their best season in 15 years, first-year head coach Ben Johnson got an "A" grade from his players.
Johnson’s score in this year’s NFL Players Association report card dwarfs the league-worst C grade given to Matt Eberflus before his late-season firing in 2024. Only the Rams' Sean McVay and the Commanders' Dan Quinn had higher grades this year.
The Bears’ highest-ranking officials received outstanding scores, with chairman George McCaskey and general manager Ryan Poles each earning an A-, according to documents obtained by ESPN on Thursday.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was given a C+ and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower a B-. The lowest grade the Bears received from their players was the C given to the grass surface at Soldier Field.
Overall, the Bears ranked 13th out of 32 NFL teams. They were up one spot from last year, when they finished 14th overall. The Packers fell from seventh to 21st. The Vikings finished second and the Lions ninth, each for the second consecutive year.
The Dolphins ranked first and the Steelers last.
The survey is in its fourth year. The union published results in the first three but was barred from doing so this year. The NFL won a grievance against the NFLPA earlier this month to get the union to stop publishing their annual report cards, saying the disparagement of NFL teams and employees violated the collective bargaining agreement. The union said it would continue to conduct the surveys, even if they weren’t allowed to be published on the NFLPA’s website.