The Detroit Lions are learning the hard way this offseason about the cost of success.
When successful teams begin that upward trajectory, the clubs who are on the decline often start trying to get a piece of what they have, generally by poaching their respective coaching staffs.
We saw it in New England after the Patriots won three championships in four seasons, which led to Bill Belichick having to start making adjustments as other teams started garnering interest in his coaching staff.
Dan Campbell’s success, which included an incredible 15-2 regular season finish in 2024, is forcing him to get a taste of that already this offseason.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is off to Division rival Chicago after accepting the head coaching job there. His defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, is taking the head coach job for the Jets, and defensive line coach Terrell Williams just accepted the defensive coordinator position here in New England.
That’s three key parts of his staff who he’ll have to try and replace this offseason.
Johnson’s loss is certainly the one that sits at the forefront. Offense is where a lot of the attention is going when it comes to the hot candidates in the NFL, and the Lions were terrific there in 2024.
Detroit finished with the best point differential in the NFL in 2024, with a +222, nearly double that of the next closest team, which was Philadelphia at +160.
They scored a league-best 564 points last season, with Jared Goff finishing with a career-high 37 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions.
Granted, his playoff performance didn’t turn out quite as well as he probably hoped, with his three interceptions during last weekend’s shocking upset loss to the Commanders being a tough way to end a year that many believed might finish in storybook fashion.
But what Johnson did with this group last season put him on the radar of quite a few teams, with the Patriots among the many franchises who interviewed him during the process.
It’s a big loss for the Lions. It’s bad enough that not only is it back to the drawing board following a finish that left Campbell in tears after the game, but for Goff, he heads into this offseason with plenty of uncertainty knowing there will be someone else calling plays in his helmet next season.
Who that will be is obviously the biggest question. But as they go through the process, Campbell said he’ll seek input from his quarterback as they evaluate their options.
“To me that’s important, Campbell told the media on Monday via ESPN when it came to involving Goff in this process. “That’s what Ben did a great job of, is those guys working together, and the system was kind of built from the ground up, and it was to help him and for him to be a part of.”
“And so, yeah, that’s huge, he’ll have a lot of input. What he says, says a lot to me, I should say. Now, is it going to be the ultimate decision? No, it’s not, but what he says is going to mean a lot to me.”
The most important thing in Campbell’s mind is maintaining continuity, which he believes is important for everyone heading into 2025. That may bode well for Tanner Engstrand, the team’s passing game coordinator, who is rumored to be an internal candidate who could be in the running. Mark Brunell, the team’s quarterback’s coach, is another name being mentioned, although he could be another coach lost this offseason. He’s rumored to be a potential candidate to join Glenn as the Jets offensive coordinator in New York.
Whoever the Lions choose, it’s clear Campbell has a preference, regardless of who gets the job. He’s focused on maintaining things the best they can to keep this train moving forward for everyone on the offensive side of the ball.
“I’m going to be involved no matter what because I think that’s best for our offense, but also Goff. This thing is set up for Goff to have success with our playmakers … I want to keep that in place,” he said via MLive. “I want to keep our terminology in place. I want to make sure that Goff is comfortable because he’s playing at a high level.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
