The first month-plus of 2025 has not been kind to the Detroit Lions as the team has experienced heartbreak after heartbreak from crashing out of the NFL postseason to losing their brilliant offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
In the wake of the Lions’ early playoff exit and coaching exodus, quarterback Jared Goff had a classy message for Johnson after he took the Chicago Bears’ head coaching job.
Under Johnson, Goff helped the Lions finish in the top-five in total yards per game in each of the last three seasons and is coming off one of his career-best campaigns with 37 touchdowns and 4,629 passing yards.
Things likely won’t run quite as smoothly for Goff and the Lions’ talented offense in the years to come, but the Lions quarterback had nothing but praise for Johnson as he enters the next chapter of his NFL coaching career.
“He’s a hell of a coach. He’s a guy that’s made a ton of difference in my career,” Goff said in an interview with SiriusXM at the Pro Bowl over the weekend. “I’m obviously a big fan of his. I was joking with him, I wish he didn’t have to be in our division so I didn’t have to try to beat him twice a year.
“But he’s going to do a great job. Hopefully not too good, though, with us being in the division together still. But I’ll always be a fan of his and we’ll always have a good relationship.”
"I was joking with him, I wish he didn't have to be in our division so I didn't have to try and beat him twice a year."@Lions QB Jared Goff discussed how they rebound after the playoff loss & Bears HC Ben Johnson.
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) February 2, 2025
📻 https://t.co/xbd7JNuKgv#Lions | #OnePride | #ProBowlGames pic.twitter.com/imDaFMnIIq
Too classy.
Goff and the Lions’ quest for Super Bowl glory this year was painfully cut short in the divisional round, when Detroit lost in a 45-31 offensive shootout against the Washington Commanders. Following Johnson’s bittersweet departure, the Lions hired former Denver Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton as their new offensive coordinator, who previously served on the Lions’ staff in 2022.
Looking ahead to a somewhat uncertain future for Detroit, Goff will hope he and the Lions can run it back next season even without his trusty OC by his side.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lions QB Jared Goff’s Parting Message to Ben Johnson Was All Class.
