Dan Campbell Explains Relationship With Former Coordinator, New Bears Coach Ben Johnson

Johnson left the Lions to become the Bears' head coach over the offseason.

Dan Campbell's former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is now a rival as head coach of the Bears / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dan Campbell and the Lions have a friendly face as a new NFC North rival starting next season: former offensive coordinator and new Bears head coach Ben Johnson.

Johnson left Detroit to take the job in Chicago over the offseason, now tasked with leading the Bears' rebuild with 2024 No. 1 pick Caleb Williams at quarterback. He was one of the hottest names in the coaching carousel last season and lands with a divisional foe after deciding to stay with the Lions just a year ago.

Now, he'll have to play his old team twice each season after running the resurgent Lions' offense for the past three years. For Campbell, though, there are no hard feelings except when Detroit and Chicago meet on the field.

"We're good, relationship's good, but it's no different than anything else," Campbell said in an interview with WXYZ Detroit's Brad Galli. "When we play each other, it's the next game and we want to win, man. They're in our division and I want to beat them, we want to beat them and I'm sure they want to beat us. There's no secret there but it doesn't matter who we're playing, we're out for blood."

INTERVIEW: Dan Campbell enters his fifth year leading the Lions with lessons learned from the successful but costly 15-2 season, hungry to answer questions about life without his former coordinators.

On the upcoming season, his dream for the Lions, and his "rock," Holly. pic.twitter.com/kiqlMXVRK6

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) August 11, 2025

Johnson was Detroit's OC from 2022 to '24. He held numerous other roles on the Lions' offensive staff, beginning his tenure with the team in '19. He remained with the franchise when Campbell was hired in '21, and formed a strong partnership with the fiery coach.

The Lions went 15–2 last season and received the NFC's No. 1 seed and first-round bye before they lost to the Commanders in the divisional round. The Bears finished last in the division last year as they went 5–12 during Williams's rookie year. Both games between the NFC North rivals during the upcoming season will have a little extra juice.

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