Few things in the NFL are tougher to predict than the NFC North. Each team has a playoff-caliber roster and a head coach well-equipped to lead them far.
The NFC North's head coaches bring with them brilliance, with traits including creativity, ability to develop, grit, and yes, winning. Each franchise has had the benefit of winning a division title under their current head coach within the past five seasons.
Ranking the NFC North head coaches for 2026 is an unenviable task when all four have an argument to be #1, and whoever gets ranked #4 here could just as easily have been ranked #1 in another division.
Because this is a ranking for the 2026 season, there is a predictive element to this. It's not a prediction of where each team will finish in the division, but rather drawing from past history to determine which coach could be best trusted to achieve a successful season relative to where their team is at and the expectations of where they should be.
Ranking the NFC North's head coaches for the 2026 season
4. Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers)
Matt LaFleur is the longest-tenured head coach in the NFC North, hired in 2019, and started his career hot with three consecutive 13-win seasons and back-to-back NFC Championship game berths.
LaFleur is a winner, but has struggled to match that early success, averaging 9.25 wins the past four seasons. Despite three playoff appearances in that span, the Packers only advanced past the wild card round once.
LaFleur's sits on the hottest seat in the division, after a monumental collapse in their wild card matchup against the Chicago Bears last season led to intense speculation that he hit his ceiling in Green Bay. Instead of moving on, the Packers signed LaFleur to an extension.
Every team in the NFC North has reasonable expectations to win the division, and go on a deep playoff run. LaFleur is under the most pressure to do so, which is going to be difficult given the Packers tough schedule as it stands now. That combined with his lack of a division title without Aaron Rodgers playing at an MVP level doesn't instill much confidence he can get over that hump in 2026.
3. Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears)
While LaFleur's seat may be the hottest, Ben Johnson's may be the coldest. The second-year head coach had a phenomenal debut, leading the Bears from worst to first. In the playoffs, Johnson helped lead the Bears to that aforementioned comeback victory over the Packers in the playoffs and a close overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams the following week.
Entering year two, the question becomes whether Johnson can evolve as teams now have no shortage of film from last season to study. He's no longer an unknown. But similar questions were raised during his time in Detroit as the offensive coordinator, and Johnson continually proved his ability to adapt. Will it be a different story as a head coach?
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The challenges that Johnson faces in 2026 are a matter of momentum. Can Madden NFL 27 cover athlete Caleb Williams continue to improve in his second year under Johnson, bumping up that completion percentage from his woeful 58.1% from last season? Can the defense survive the loss of interceptions-leading safety Kevin Byard and Pro Bowl cornerback Nahshon Wright, and lead the league in turnovers once again?
The Bears will have to endure arguably the toughest schedule of any team in the league, and keeping up that momentum and improving on last season's 11 wins won't be easy. Barring a catastrophe, Johnson's job will remain safe regardless of where the Bears end up, but this season will be the biggest test of his young career.
2. Kevin O'Connell (Minnesota Vikings)
No coach in the NFC North has proven to accomplish more with less than Minnesota Vikings' Kevin O'Connell. Despite some of the worst QB play in the league last season, the Vikings still managed a 9-8 season, including a 4-2 record within the division. This coming one season after winning 14 games in what was expected to be a "gap year."
The Vikings may be the most frightening team in the NFC North. They have one of the league's best wide receivers in Justin Jefferson and an elite defense led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores. All they need is a QB to be able to make serious noise in the NFC.
J.J. McCarthy was a disappointment in his unofficial rookie campaign, but the "QB whisperer" O'Connell now has a starting-level veteran in two-time Pro Bowler Kyler Murray as a failsafe in case McCarthy's development progresses slowly.
If O'Connell can revive Murray's career like he did with now-Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold, the Vikings could easily be the team to beat in the division. If he can even get serviceable play out of the QB position, it'll be tough to envision this Vikings team not making the playoffs.
After that is when things get dicey, given O'Connell's 0-2 record in the playoffs after winning 13 and 14 games in those respective seasons. If the Vikings do make the playoffs, can O'Connell be trusted to take them past the wild card round and beyond?
1. Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions)
Look, Dan Campbell isn't perfect. Outside of Johnson, he's struggled to find an OC that can take advantage of the supreme offensive talent on that Detroit Lions roster. He's bold at times to a detriment. The Lions have also struggled with injuries, which Campbell's coaching style could be a factor of, however small.
But the Lions are currently riding a streak of four seasons above-.500 for just the second time in the Super Bowl era. He's tied for second in franchise history in playoff wins with two, and fourth in wins as a whole with 50. It's the most successful era of football that a large chunk of Lions fans have experienced in their lifetime, by far.
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Yet, like LaFleur, Campbell is under pressure to win. Detroit fans are hungry for a deep playoff run (and beyond) for any of their teams. Campbell and the Lions have gotten the closest in recent memory, and need to prove that last season wasn't a fluke. That they're not heading toward a rebuild, and that a stronger O-line and a healthier team will have them looking more like that 15-win team from 2024.
A fourth-place schedule will go a long way toward helping out with that rebound. They won't have to worry about teams like the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles until the playoffs. Instead, it's teams like the Arizona Cardinals and the Tennessee Titans. Campbell should be able to stack up wins before a tough division-heavy stretch to close the season.
In a season that could be best described as an inflection point for the Lions, a return to the playoffs would be a successful outcome, and Campbell will have his team in a prime position to do just that.
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