The Surge

In January 2025, the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions left the team for a position as head coach of the Chicago Bears—one of the Lions’ division rivals. Ben Johnson was a successful coordinator, the loss of which stirred up much debate online about how the team would succeed without him. Rather than focusing on his departure, Lions fans should be proud of the wins he brought them during his four years in Detroit and look forward to the future of both his current and previous teams. 

 Johnson’s out-of-the-box ideas for creating plays are part of the reason he was so heavily credited with the Lions’—and specifically Jared Goff, the team’s quarterback— prosperous past three seasons. When his leave was announced, fans feared that their team would experience a great downfall. Frantic about losing his unique style and feeling betrayed that the Bears would now benefit from it, they began to spread rumors on social media regarding his 

A disappointing loss to the Washington Commanders in January 2025 even left fans believing that Johnson may be too focused on his move to the Bears to secure the win for the Lions. Instead of moving on, fans specifically brought up a trick play he called that resulted in an interception in the fourth quarter of the game. In a session with the media following the game, Johnson expressed some regrets. What was meant to be an honest reflection in which he owned up to previous faults was misconstrued by many and instead viewed as airing out the team’s mistakes. In fact, Johnson spoke out about how much the program meant to him and spoke highly of the players who inspired him to be a great coach. Being open about his missteps should not have signaled anything to fans except for the integrity of his character.

Johnson’s success was built through the Lions program, and his leaving was a natural part of not only the game, but his job. Detroit hired him, seeing potential and trusting him with play calls; his talent was nurtured through their program, but now, he is credited as the third-best offensive play-caller. This reflects well on the program overall, especially for recruiting new team management which many  fans have not seemed to recognize.

Although the situation affected fans, and they may have felt misrepresented by Johnson’s public statements, Detroit quickly hired John Morton to replace him. Since the 2025 season began, the Lions have been decently successful despite Johnson’s leave and as of October 2025, the Lions are 4-2.  September 14 resulted in a 52-21 win for the Lions against the Bears, a surprising outcome that contradicted all fears for the Lions’ supporters. 

Change is always a part of the game. Coaches switch teams, players get traded and organizations continue to adapt. Employees come and go—it is the nature of the workplace—even if it was surprising, it was Johnson’s decision and he should not have been lambasted for it. Holding grudges just distracts from looking toward the future.  The September 14 victory was closure for the Lions, them telling their ex “I’m doing just fine.” 

Bottom Line: The Lions have built a program that is stronger than just one player or one coach; it’s a culture, an identity, and that doesn’t just go away when one person leaves. Even though it may be hard to accept that a big part of their team is gone, it is best to stay positive and find the good in why they are leaving and accept that it’s the way life goes.