Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson is the latest offensive guru to get his first NFL head coaching job before his 40th birthday − and the latest example of an ongoing trend in hiring by the league’s owners.
The Bears formally introduced Johnson, 38, as their new head coach Wednesday, making him the second-youngest coach in the league behind Mike Macdonald of Seattle, who was hired last year. He is also the 14th coach in his 30s to be hired as an NFL head coach over the past five years − a group that is mostly white and with an expertise on the offensive side of the ball, like Johnson.
Over the past five years, more than 1 in 3 of the head coaching vacancies in the NFL have been filled by someone in their 30s as the average age of NFL head coaches has continued to decline, USA TODAY Sports data shows.
The trend has been colloquially referred to as the ‘Sean McVay Effect’ following McVay’s success with the Los Angeles Rams, who hired him at 30. (McVay, despite entering his ninth season at the helm, is just four months older than Johnson.)
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How did Ben Johnson get his NFL coaching start?
A former walk-on quarterback at North Carolina, Johnson spent a few years coaching in college at Boston College before getting his first NFL job in 2012, when the Miami Dolphins hired him as an offensive assistant. He was just 26 at the start of his first season as an NFL coach.
Johnson was later promoted to position coach and retained during a head-coaching change. He left Miami for Detroit in 2019, where he worked his way up to tight ends coach, passing game coordinator and, eventually, offensive coordinator.
Is Ben Johnson the youngest coach in the NFL?
No. At the time of his hiring, Johnson was just the second-youngest head coach in the league, behind Macdonald.
At the time of his hiring, there were still five other teams with head-coaching vacancies: The Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets. The only other head coach hired so far this month was New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who is 49.
Who are the youngest head coaches in the NFL?
Here are the ages of the 10 youngest head coaches in the NFL, as of January 2025.
- Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks (37 years, 6 months)
- Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears (38 years, 8 months)
- Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams (38 years, 11 months)
- Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings (39 years, 7 months)
- Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts (39 years, 8 months)
- DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans (40 years, 5 months)
- Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans (40 years, 7 months)
- Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals (41 years, 8 months)
- Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins (41 years, 10 months)
- Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals (42 years old)
