Ben Johnson Takes a Dig at Lions in Latest Comments

The Detroit Lions are entering a year with new offensive and defensive coordinators, and their fresh coaching staff is all the talk in the NFL. Dan Campbell had a tight-knit staff with Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, but those days are behind the Motor City, and now, Johnson and Glenn are heading up rivals.

Well, Glenn is with the Jets, which aren’t a direct rival of the Lions. But, Johnson is with the Chicago Bears, so he’s coaching a direct rival in the NFC North. So, as the Detroit Lions head into their new season, when they play the Bears, it’s going to be an extra exciting game to watch.

Now, both Campbell and Johnson are getting asked about each other in the press, and while they’re not going to say anything too negative, it’s easy to hear a few digs in their comments. Johnson was asked about his coaching style with the Bears and had an answer that reflected a little on the Lions.

Former Detroit Lions Coach Ben Johnson Gets Asked About Lions Remarks

Johnson spoke with Kay Adams on the Up & Adams show on Tuesday, August 19, and the talk turned to the Detroit Lions. The day prior, Adams had interviewed Lions players Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs, and Gibbs commented that watching the Bears, it was “funny watching the same plays that we ran,” so they threw a little shade at Johnson and his work in the Windy City. “Hopefully, it only looks good for two more weeks,” St. Brown added.

So, Johnson was asked about those remarks. He used the opportunity to push back a bit on his former team and insist that those plays will change when the regular season starts.

“This is the same gameplan in the preseason I’ve done for the past four years, so the plays should probably look the same,” Johnson said in the chat. “We just dusted off an old [playbook] and the guys are going out there and executing at a high level right now.”

Lions and Bears in the Coaching Sphere

While Johnson had a lot of success with the Detroit Lions, he has something to prove with the Chicago Bears. It’s his first head coaching gig, and he’s expected to deliver. The Lions clocked an impressive 1,478 points under Johnson’s offensive in his three years in that role.

Even though Johnson is new, he got some glowing words from Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports in his July tally of NFL coaches going into the season. “After years as the NFL’s hottest coaching candidate, lending all kinds of aggressive play-calling to the rival Lions’ turnaround, Johnson has the pieces to do something meaningful in Chi-Town,” Benjamin stated.

As for Campbell, he said that the coach “went from laughable meme to enviable leader as Brad Holmes began outfitting him with all-star weaponry” and that even the worst of “heartbreaks haven’t deterred his unit from playing with the authority of an NFC heavyweight.”

Hopefully the Lions can have the last laugh against Johnson and the Bears come this fall. Both teams are ready for their two matchups.