{"id":292063,"date":"2026-07-17T08:30:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T12:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=292063"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T21:51:13","slug":"nfc-north-coaches-familiarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/17\/nfc-north-coaches-familiarity\/","title":{"rendered":"NFC North Coaches’ Familiarity Breeds Contempt In 2026 NFL Head Coaches Ranking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL world slumbers as the World Cup draws to a close this week, with enthralling, climactic finishes on deck. Who are the best coaches in the compulsively competitive NFC North, which features multiple playoff contenders every season? The NFC North coaches’ familiarity with one another breeds tremendous contempt. While the NFC East takes the cake for overall star power<\/a>, the North always remembers its own.\u00a0 None more vitriolic than Ben Johnson of the Bears expressing his wanton contempt<\/a> for the Packers and Matt LaFleur.<\/p>\n

NFC North Coaches’ Familiarity Breeds Contempt in 2026 NFL Head Coaches Ranking<\/h2>\n

1. Green Bay Packers<\/h3>\n

Head Coach: Matt LaFleur<\/h4>\n

LaFleur is just as likely to retain his top spot by winning the division for the fourth time in eight tries as he is to get fired. The hot seat in Green Bay<\/a> <\/span>is eternally simmering, given the lack of recent playoff success under LaFleur. The Flower is the top coach in the division because of his past successes. 2026 is a critical season for him, and for quarterback Jordan Love, anything short of the NFC title game would be considered a failure. Can he regain his mojo even as the NFC North coaches’ familiarity with one another breeds explosive contempt?<\/p>\n

The defense is full of young veterans under former Arizona HC Jonathan Gannon. Micah Parsons<\/a> needs to bounce back healthy into the fearsome pass rusher he is. Can the younger pieces coalesce into a top 15 defense? Time will tell. OC Adam Stenavich will have to cobble together a passing game with a receiver group that lacks a bona fide WR1. The NFC North coaches’ familiarity is so intense that LaFleur and Chicago’s Ben Johnson won’t be exchanging Christmas gifts any time soon.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

2. Detroit Lions<\/h3>\n

Head Coach: Dan Campbell<\/h4>\n

Campbell leads the Detroit Lions <\/a><\/span>\u00a0into his sixth season as a full-time head coach with a few question marks beginning to emerge. His two offensive coordinator hires outside of Ben Johnson don’t engender much praise or hope. The latest OC to man the controls is former Cardinals OC Drew Petzing<\/a>, who oversaw a collapse in Arizona. There’s still high-level talent on Campbell’s team, but perhaps its Super Bowl window closed for good. Campbell ranks second for now because he saved the Lions from eternal misery, but he needs 2026 to go right to stay there.<\/p>\n

Superstar running back Jahmyr Gibbs has another capable running mate in Isiah Pacheco. ARSB still resonates as a top-ten receiver. Jared Goff offers plenty in the passing game. However, the offensive line is in flux with Penei Sewell moving to the left side and rookie Blake Miller sliding to the right. DC Kelvin Sheppard is well thought of in Detroit, but can he deliver the goods with an underperforming defense? The Terrion Arnold situation<\/a> is bizarre, and he is no longer part of the equation. 2026 will be an uphill climb for the Lions as the NFC North coaches’ familiarity coincides with their downfall.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3. Minnesota Vikings<\/h3>\n

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell<\/h4>\n

The Minnesota Vikings <\/a><\/span>suffered a precipitous fall in 2025 with a new quarterback in charge after winning 14 games in 2024. KOC’s reputation took a hit with the inability of former first-round selection J.J. McCarthy to gain a foothold<\/a> on the starting job. Thus, Minnesota brought in veteran Kyler Murray to compete and possibly beat out McCarthy for the gig. The Vikings have a talented offense surrounding the quarterback, including the all-world Justin Jefferson, who endured a tumultuous 2025. What can he do to get back to his winning ways as the NF North coaches’ familiarity ratchets up?<\/p>\n

KOC’s reputation as a QB whisperer is on the line, and Minnesota could look towards a 2027 draft class loaded with quarterback talent. OC Wes Phillips gets another year to learn at the feet of KOC before becoming a legitimate head coaching candidate.\u00a0The defense will still be salty under veteran DC Brian Flores and has the difference-makers to become an elite unit. Minnesota desperately needs a quarterback option to work out, as the NFC North coaches’ familiarity with one another should make for a dogfight in the division.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

4. Chicago Bears<\/h3>\n

Head Coach: Ben Johnson<\/h4>\n

Johnson turned out to be every bit the offensive genius<\/a> for the Bears<\/a> <\/span>that he proved to be in years past, serving as Detroit’s offensive coordinator. The second-year head coach led the development of quarterback Caleb Williams as a sophomore after a trying rookie season. Chicago’s defense is as salty as ever, with star talent at every level under DC Dennis Allen, who brings head-coaching experience. They have the potential to become a top-ten unit with talented players like Grady Jarrett, Dillon Thieneman, and Coby Bryant. Incumbents like T.J. Edwards and Kyler Gordon lead the ferocious stop unit. Offensively, Johnson’s charges should be ultra-productive once again with their three-headed hydra at receiver and a talented stable of running backs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bears’ head coach made a lasting impression in the Windy City by leading Chicago to a rare division title in his first season. What can he do for an encore in his second season? At the very least, he should become even better as the NFC North coaches’ familiarity breeds even more contempt against one another. Interestingly, his OC is Bengals’ head coach Zac Taylor’s<\/a> brother, Press. He ranked last in the division due to his inexperience, but the signs are immensely promising. Johnson joined the intensity of the NFC North coaches’ familiarity with his boorish and outlandish braggadocio, only to back it up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NFC North coaches familiarity with one another has brought forth seriously competitive juices to the fore. How will it play out on the field in 2026? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4788,"featured_media":292643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,6431,33916],"tags":[9585,7464,8897,3566],"class_list":["post-292063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-nfl-teams","category-power-rankings","tag-ben-johnson","tag-dan-campbell","tag-kevin-oconnell","tag-matt-lafleur"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292063"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292646,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292063\/revisions\/292646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}