Ben Johnson Hated More After Perceived Goff Slight

Johnson's comments at Combine draw ire from Lions fans.

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator and current Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson made comments during his media session at the NFL Scouting Combine that drew ire from fans of his former team.

Among them was the way he categorized the skill set of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. He noted that he has not worked with a quarterback as athletic as Williams and praised the passer's skill set. As a result, Lions fans were not pleased with the comments.

“I get excited thinking about that because I haven't really been around that since I've been in the league," Johnson said. "But, I've been on the other side, and I've experienced it."

Williams has always been a premier athlete, while Jared Goff doesn't have the same level of gifts. However, Johnson maximized Goff's skill set with an offense tailored to his needs, and could do the same with Williams in Chicago.

With Johnson taking over as the head coach of a division rival, he'll have to face off against his former team and head coach Dan Campbell twice a season. Johnson will also have multiple members of his staff that were previously with the Lions, including Antwaan Randle El and J.T. Barrett.

You have no idea how much I hate Ben Johnson. Please make it personal next year.

— SimpleLion (@HappyGoLionLife) February 26, 2025

McVay says Goff deserved more respect

When Goff was traded from the Los Angeles Rams along with several draft picks to the Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford, many believed that Goff would not find success. He had fallen out of favor with one of the brightest minds in football, and was sent to a place that was breaking in a new head coach.

Four years later, however, the narrative has changed greatly. Goff has revitalized his career in Detroit, as he was an MVP finalist in 2024 and has led the team to back-to-back division titles. That's not to say the deal didn't work out for L.A, though, as Stafford led the team to a Super Bowl victory in his first year with the team.

Stafford has led the team to the playoffs each of the last two years as well, losing to Detroit in 2023 and Philadelphia in 2024.

Goff signed a four-year contract extension to remain in Detroit for the long term, but Stafford's future with the Rams remains in flux. Rams coach Sean McVay admitted that he could've handled the situation in a better fashion, as Goff was essentially cast aside by the organization.

“I had some growing up to do, could have done a better job for Jared," McVay said during an appearance on the Fitz and Whit Show. "There’s a lot more respect and etiquette that he deserved in the way that that was handled on my end, that was poor on my part. And you want to make sure that you know, as you try to apply your lessons learned from your mistakes, that you’re at least trying to communicate with clarity.”

This is excellent, transparent insight from Sean McVay on the Matthew Stafford situation. Nice work, @fitzandwhit. pic.twitter.com/rxZIYGbD0U

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 26, 2025

Goff led the Rams to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2018 season, with the team ultimately coming up short in a loss to the New England Patriots. In five years with that organization before being traded, he threw for 18,171 yards and 107 touchdowns while making two Pro Bowl appearances.