{"id":25637,"date":"2025-06-13T01:52:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T01:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=25637"},"modified":"2025-06-13T01:52:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T01:52:42","slug":"why-chicago-lions-brad-holmes-surprised-ben-johnson-took-bears-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=25637","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Why Chicago?\u2019: Lions\u2019 Brad Holmes surprised Ben Johnson took Bears job"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John<\/div>\n

Detroit Lions senior offensive assistant John Morton, left, and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson watch during an NFL football practice in Allen Park, Mich., Thursday, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo\/Paul Sancya)AP<\/em><\/p>\n

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Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes had a strong sense the team would lose two of its coordinators during the latest NFL head coaching carousel. But what caught him off guard was the job one of them chose to take.<\/p>\n

During a recent appearance on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, Holmes shared his reaction to former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson accepting the head coaching position with the Chicago Bears \u2014 keeping him within the NFC North.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, there are multiple jobs that were open that cycle, and so I didn\u2019t really know that. I knew he had interviewed for Chicago, but he interviewed for a lot of the other positions, too. So I really didn\u2019t know, really, which way it was going to go,\u201d Holmes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking Chicago would\u2019ve probably been the last destination \u2014 or I was probably hoping that, probably. But no, I really didn\u2019t know that was happening until \u2014 actually, until he accepted the job, and we had a little talk briefly before he left. I was happy for him, man. I mean, he is a hell of a coach, man, and they have a really good one up there. But yeah, it\u2019s just a little like, man, why Chicago?\u201d<\/p>\n

With Johnson off to The Second City, the Lions turned to a familiar face to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy, hiring Denver Broncos pass game coordinator and Auburn Hills native John Morton.<\/p>\n

\"Brad<\/p>\n

Morton\u2019s return to Michigan is a homecoming in more ways than one. The Western Michigan graduate served on Dan Campbell\u2019s staff in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant. Having helped shape the offense the Lions still run, Holmes doesn\u2019t expect a significant shift in philosophy or identity \u2014 despite the looming matchups against Johnson and the Bears.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s going to be some new wrinkles. But I think, in terms of the change to the looks, that really comes from Dan, in terms of he\u2019s looking to evolve it regardless, whether Ben was still here or not,\u201d Holmes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I will say, just because John Morton and Ben were there both in \u201922 with Dan overseeing the whole thing, I don\u2019t see a lot of wholesale change. But there\u2019s going to be some evolution there, just because that\u2019s how Dan is\u2014just regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lions won\u2019t have to wait long to see their former coordinator. Johnson\u2019s return to Detroit comes early, when the Bears visit Ford Field in Week 2 on Sept. 14.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brad Holmes knew that Ben Johnson was probably on his way out of Detroit, but he was not prepared for where he landed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Why Chicago?\u2019: Lions\u2019 Brad Holmes surprised Ben Johnson took Bears job - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=25637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Why Chicago?\u2019: Lions\u2019 Brad Holmes surprised Ben Johnson took Bears job - 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