Ben Johnson was not going to leave his post as Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator for just any head coaching job. That said, his departure was always inevitable, even if some fans didn't care to acknowledge it. And indeed, a third head coaching cycle where he was a top candidate was the charm, and he is now the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
Possibly going back as much as a year (or a little more) behind the scenes, when the job was not open, Johnson was rumored to have interest in the Bears' head coaching job. So in a neutral, non-fandom sense, the Bears pursuing him like they did and him taking the job was not surprising.
Johnson leaving for a division rival drew automatic ire from Lions' fans, and the video the Bears released when he walked into Halas Hall for the first time did not help.
The Lions won't wait long to face Johnson for the first time this season, with the Bears visiting Ford Field in Week 2.
John Maakaron of SI.com asked Dan Campbell about the timing of facing the Bears, and as expected the Lions head coach said he's indifferent about the early season matchup.
"I'm indifferent to it. Listen, we — put 'em where you want 'em. Green Bay here, Chicago here, Minnesota here, Baltimore here, Kansas City here, the Rams here. It doesn't (matter)," Campbell said. "We've got to play them all. And we've got to be ready to play every one of them. One week at a time. I'm excited for the way it's layed out."
Brad Holmes channels Lions' fans thoughts about Ben Johnson's career decision
Lions general manager Brad Holmes was a guest on the "Green Light" podcast with former NFL defensive lineman Chris Long on Thursday. Among the topics of conversation was the coaching turnover the Lions had this offseason.
Long specifically brought up Johnson leaving for the Bears, and how he may have brought up the possibility to Holmes and the Lions' organization as a whole.
"Obviously there were multiple jobs that were open that cycle, and so I didn’t really know — I knew that he had interviewed with Chicago but he interviewed for a lot of the other positions too," Holmes said. "I didn’t really know which way it was gonna go. I was thinking Chicago would’ve been the last destination, or I was probably hoping that. But no, I didn’t really know that was happening until it actually — he accepted the job and we had a little talk briefly before he left, I was happy for him. He is a hell of a coach, man. They have a really good one up there. It’s just a little like, ‘Man, why Chicago?’"
Despite how some of his words could be read, without complete context, Holmes does not seem jaded by the fact Johnson left for the Bears. But the "why Chicago?" sentiment taps right into how a lot of Lions' fans feel about Johnson's career decision.
Here is Holmes' entire conversation with Long, with the part about Johnson starting at the 11:35 mark.
