Fact or Fiction: Should Lions Have Kept Ben Johnson, Fired Dan Campbell?

The Detroit Lions are coming off of a 2025 season in which both the head coach and general manager gave themselves failing grades.

Things are looking quite differently in Chicago, where first-year head coach Ben Johnson has taken everything that was once great in Detroit and injected it into an organization that had not had any playoff success since 2011.

Did the Lions let a genius leave the building?

Just a quick history lesson. Bill Belichick, who went on to become one of the all-time great head coaches, had a stint with the Lions (1976-1977). He initially worked as an assistant special teams coach and then as the wide receivers/tight ends coach the following year.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it's our identity here at this point. Some people say it's not sustainable. I don't know. The takeaways are who we are on defense and on offense, it's explosive plays," Ben Johnson said, after the Bears defeated the Packers at Soldier Field. "That's kind of what we've done all year long, and coming up in big moments. As a team, it's just resiliency and knowing that late in the fourth quarter, that's really when we're at our best as a football team. We'll keep striving to be better earlier in games and starting faster and all that, but that gives us something to work towards. I can't be any more proud of that crew than I am now.”

Lions coach Dan Campbell has done a masterful job of repairing the reputation of the Lions. What once was a dormant franchise is now rightfully under the microscope.

Every decision is talked about, and the fanbase is grumpy due to the growing belief the team should be in Super Bowl conversations on a yearly basis.

It would have been unprecedented for general manager Brad Holmes to fire Campbell, following a 15-win season in 2024.

Remember all those injuries back in 2024?

But, sometimes to reach the summit of Mount Everest, you must dig deeper and find something within you did not know you even had. For the Lions, which have never even been to the Super Bowl, drastic decisions might need to be made.

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Remember the Detroit Pistons? The NBA team had a 50-32 record in 2003. Head coach Rick Carlisle was replaced, after leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals. Larry Brown was hired and the team went on to win the NBA title the following season in 2024.

Johnson is now the youthful, energetic and brash head coach. In a passionate postgame speech, the former Lions OC is seen telling his team, "F**k the Packers."

It reminded me of Campbell standing in front of the podium and telling the world the Lions would bite kneecaps off.

Now, which is understandable, Campbell is more polished and professional. It's more in line with how head coaches typically act, at least publicly.

He leaned on more coach speak this season, telling reporters the team needed to clean up mistakes and make corrections almost on a weekly basis.

Cleanup in Aisle 5 please! Unfortunately, with the roster built, the mess lingered, resulting in the Lions missing the playoffs.

Johnson explained postgame, when asked about his passionate locker room speech, “There was probably a little bit more noise coming out of their building up north to start the week, which we heard loud and clear, players and coaches alike. So, this one meant something to us."

Quarterback Caleb Williams shared what the new mindset is for a Bears team that is no longer dormant under Johnson's leadership.

“We're here, and we're going to be here for a while is my plan," said Williams. "So, be here with Coach, win a bunch of games, be in these moments, come out victorious. That's the mindset for right now
this year. That's also the mindset for the future.”

Losing is not fun. Not fun for anybody.

I still do think Campbell will tap more into what made the team successful, when it started to make its climb in 2022 and 2023.

Hopefully, Campbell can mature in his decision-making on the field, but bring out more of the coach that was ready to ruthlessly send a message to the league internally.

It is okay to call out a player and to send a message to the team during a talk with the media. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard did it masterfully. Former offensive coordinator John Morton, not so much.

If Campbell still has that bravado in him, people will forget about the site of Johnson taking his shirt off following a win in 2025.

But for now, Ben Johnson and the Bears run the North, while the Lions are forced to hibernate.

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