Few divisions in football are as hard to sort out as the NFC North, and that starts with the men on the sideline. Every team in the division has a roster built to compete, and every coach here has already shown he can win at this level. That’s what makes ranking them for 2026 such a tricky exercise: all four have a case, and the coach slotted fourth in one division could easily be first in another.
This isn’t a forecast of how the standings will shake out. It’s a look at which coach looks best positioned to guide his team through the season ahead, based on what he’s done before and what he’s walking into now.
- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Campbell gets the top spot because the Lions have become one of the league’s most reliable winners under him. Detroit is in the middle of a run of four straight seasons above .500, which is only the second time that’s happened in the Super Bowl era. Campbell also has two playoff wins, tying him for second in franchise history, and 50 total victories, which puts him fourth all-time in Lions wins.
He’s not flawless. The offense has not always had the right coordinator to fully unlock the talent on that roster outside of Ben Johnson, and Campbell’s aggressive style can sometimes cut both ways. Injuries have also been a problem, though the source material notes that his coaching style may have played some role in that, even if only a small one.
Still, Detroit is entering a season that feels like a turning point. The Lions need to show last year was not a one-off, and that they are not drifting toward a rebuild.
A stronger offensive line and better health would help them look more like the 15-win team from 2024. The schedule also helps, with a fourth-place slate that avoids teams like the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles until the playoffs.
Instead, the Lions get games against clubs such as the Arizona Cardinals and the Tennessee Titans before a tougher division-heavy finish.
A playoff return would count as success, and Campbell has his team set up to make that happen.
- Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
No coach in the NFC North has done more with less than O’Connell. Minnesota went 9-8 last season despite some of the league’s worst quarterback play, and still managed a 4-2 record inside the division. That came one year after the Vikings won 14 games in what was supposed to be a gap year.
The roster around him is dangerous. Justin Jefferson remains one of the best receivers in the league, and Brian Flores leads an elite defense.
The missing piece is quarterback play, and O’Connell now has a veteran fallback in two-time Pro Bowler Kyler Murray if J.J. McCarthy’s development doesn’t move quickly enough after what the source describes as a disappointing unofficial rookie campaign.
O’Connell has already earned the “QB whisperer” label, and if he can revive Murray the way he did with now-Super Bowl champion Sam Darnold, Minnesota could become the team to beat in the division. Even average quarterback play would make the Vikings a serious playoff threat.
The concern comes after that. O’Connell is 0-2 in the playoffs after seasons of 13 and 14 wins, and that history hangs over him here. If Minnesota gets back in, the question is whether he can finally push them beyond the wild card round.
- Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears
Johnson’s seat is the coldest in the division after a spectacular first year in Chicago. He took the Bears from worst to first, then helped engineer that comeback win over the Packers in the playoffs before Chicago fell in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams the next week.
Year two brings a different kind of test. Teams now have a full season of film to study, and Johnson is no longer the unknown quantity he was a year ago.
But that challenge is familiar territory for him, considering the same questions followed him during his time as Detroit’s offensive coordinator, and he kept proving he could adjust. The real question is whether he can keep doing that as a head coach.
The Bears have plenty to manage in 2026. Caleb Williams, the Madden NFL 27 cover athlete, needs to take another step forward in his second season under Johnson after completing just 58.1% of his passes last year. Chicago also has to replace interceptions leader Kevin Byard and Pro Bowl cornerback Nahshon Wright, while trying to lead the league in turnovers again.
The schedule is brutal, maybe the toughest in the league, and matching or surpassing last year’s 11 wins will not be simple. Johnson’s job security should be fine no matter what happens, but this is the biggest proving ground of his young coaching career.
- Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
LaFleur is the most experienced coach in the division, having taken over in 2019, and he came out of the gate blazing with three straight 13-win seasons and back-to-back NFC Championship Game appearances.
Since then, the results have been more uneven. Over the last four seasons, Green Bay has averaged 9.25 wins, and while the Packers have made the playoffs three times in that span, they’ve only gotten past the wild card round once. That’s part of why LaFleur finds himself with the most pressure in the NFC North.
His seat got hotter after a major collapse in last season’s wild-card matchup against the Chicago Bears sparked talk that he may have reached his ceiling in Green Bay. The Packers responded by giving him an extension instead of moving on.
That only raises the stakes for 2026. Green Bay has division-title expectations like everyone else in the NFC North, but LaFleur has not won the division without Aaron Rodgers playing at an MVP level. Add in a difficult schedule, and there’s not a lot of room for comfort.
Among this group, LaFleur is the toughest coach to trust to clear the next hurdle.
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