Once widely seen as a bridge quarterback for a building Detroit Lions franchise, Jared Goff has rebuilt his career and been a Pro Bowl signal-caller in two of the past three years.

Goff’s resurgence in Detroit has come with Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator for the last three seasons.

Now, Johnson has departed to be the Chicago Bears head coach, leaving Goff to face him twice a season going forward.

“He’s a hell of a coach,” Goff told SiriusXM NFL Radio this past weekend at the Pro Bowl Games. “He’s a guy that’s made a ton of difference in my career. I’m obviously a big fan of his. I was joking with him — I wish he didn’t have to be in our division, so I didn’t have to try to beat him twice a year.”

Goff and the Lions won five of six against the Bears with Johnson at OC. The QB is obviously hoping that won’t change.

“He’s going to do a great job,” Goff said. “Hopefully not too good, though, with us being in the division together still. I’ll always be a fan of his and we’ll always have a good relationship.”

Over the last three seasons working with Johnson, Goff has completed 68.1% of his passes for 13,642 yards, 96 touchdowns to 31 interceptions and gone to two of his four career Pro Bowls.

After throwing for a career-high 37 touchdowns and completing a career-best 72.4% of his passes in 2024, Goff will now look to carry on his run of success under new OC John Morton.

Goff has some familiarity with Morton and is optimistic about the partnership ahead.

“We were together in 2022,” Goff said. “He was an assistant on our staff. Has done it before, has been a coordinator before, has a lot of experience in our league. He’s been around a lot of great coaches. I’m excited to work with him and see where we can go.”

Goff and the Lions came up well short of their Super Bowl aspirations in the 2024 season.

Now, Detroit will regroup and give it another go sans Johnson.

Just how well Goff maintains his recent level of Pro Bowl play under Morton will be a prevailing storyline for the 2025 Lions.