LIONS LOSS IS A GAIN FOR THE JETS & BEARS
It did not take long for the team that Dan Campbell had assembled to lead the Lions to the Divisional Playoffs to be stripped of its top two assistant coaches. The offensive and defensive coordinators had become the top two head coaching prospects after the great success that they had in Detroit.
The Lions were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday the 18th, and by Monday the 20th Ben Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears as their new head coach. Johnson started his NFL coaching career with the Miami Dolphins in 2012 as an offensive assistant coach. He was the assistant quarterback coach for Ryan Tannehill’s rookie campaign and had varied success there. In 2020 he was hired by the Detroit Lions as the tight ends coach and then took over as the offensive coordinator in 2022. According to Statmuse, the Lions had the most yards of total offense by a team with 20,134 yards from 1/24/22 thru 1/24/25. Stats like that plus back-to-back winning seasons made Johnson a very desirable option for any head coaching vacancy.
On the other side of the ball the defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn was also considered a top coaching candidate. Two days after Johnson was hired by the Bears, Glenn laned his head coaching job with the New York Jets. This is a perfect hire, since Glenn began his NFL career in 1994 when the Jets drafted him in the first round with the 12th overall pick. Glenn played for the jets for 8 seasons. Then after his playing career he returned to the Jets as a scout and worked in the personnel department. The fact that Detroit was riddled with injuries on the defensive side of the ball and Glenn was still able to field a winning defense made him an attractive head coaching candidate.
Detroit Free Press, retrieved on 1/24/25, Chicago Bears hire Ben Johnson as head coach, stealing away Lions offensive coordinator, by Dave Birkett, www.freep.com
Pro Football History, retrieved on 1/24/25, Ben Johnson Coaching History, www.pro-football-history.com
StatMuse, retrieved on 1/24/25, Detroit offense rank the past 2 seasons,
New York Jets, retrieved on 1/24/25, Jets Name Aaron Glenn Head Coach, by Eric Allen, www.newyorkjets.com
