Ben Johnson had friction with Dan Campbell and Lions before taking up Bears HC job, claims Detroit radio host

Ben Johnson and Dan Campbell parted ways after the Lions lost to the Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round playoffs. Detroit was the top seed in the conference, coming off a bye week, and the favorites to proceed against Washington. Instead, they ended up losing, which freed the Lions offensive coordinator to take the Bears head coaching job in the same NFC North division.

While one cannot begrudge any coordinator for choosing a head coaching role when it becomes available, Neal Ruhl of the Big D Energy radio show had a different take. He said that he had heard from a source that Ben Johnson, who has been credited with turning around the Detroit offense over the last two years, had a falling out with Dan Campbell. Therefore, the offensive coordinator would not have happened irrespective of whether he got the Bears job. He said,

"I got a phone call yesterday from pretty good source, covers the National Football League. He had a lot of interesting things to say about the Lions coaching movement, all of that stuff. The Ben Johnson stuff that he told me about was a little more interesting - was that there was potentially some friction in the organization with Ben Johnson, with Dan Campbell, to the degree that he might not have been back regardless this year."

Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn departure could spell trouble for Dan Campbell's Lions

Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn both left the Lions on a low note. The offensive coordinator's gameplan for Detroit quarterback Jared Goff did not work against Washington as they turned the ball over frequently. Meanwhile, the defensive coordinator was completely unable to stop the Commanders' offense in their 45-31 defeat.

However, their work over the past two years, in establishing the Lions as a genuine playoff threat after decades of incompetence, saw the Bears and the Jets choose them as head coaches. This leaves Dan Campbell in a quandary as he has to bring in two new coordinators in 2025.

It is similar to the situation with Nick Sirianni in 2023 when the Eagles lost both their coordinators to rivals after their Super Bowl appearance. It had the effect of dismantling their synergy on both sides of the ball in the final stretch last season, culminating in a humiliating loss to the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round. Detroit fans will take heart, though, that Philadelphia changed personnel again this year to re-establish themselves and are back in the NFC Championship game.