Report Fuels Idea Ben Johnson ‘Checked Out’ During Lions Season

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New comments are fueling the idea that Ben Johnson had already mentally moved on from the Detroit Lions before the season was over.

For many Detroit Lions fans watching what turned out to be the team’s final game of the season against the Washington Commanders, frustration kicked in during that matchup. Some fans even went so far to speculate that perhaps Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn were checked out, already thinking about their next opportunities as head coaches in the NFL.

Well, now both Johnson and Glenn have head coaching positions elsewhere. Johnson is with the Chicago Bears and Glenn is with the New York Jets. Now, new comments are making some fans even more frustrated and thinking that at least Johnson was already “checked out” before the season ended.

Dennis Allen Says Ben Johnson Contacted Him Before Detroit Lions Season Was Over

Just a few weeks into his new role as the head coach of the Bears, Johnson has hired former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen as the team’s defensive coordinator. At first, some thought Allen would become the Lions’ defensive coordinator, but some reports surfaced early on that he was a favorite in Chicago. The Lions end up promoting linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard to the role.

Johnson officially gave Allen the Bears defensive coordinator position this week. Allen met with the press on Thursday, January 30, and dropped the bombshell that Johnson contacted him before the Lions’ season was over.

“At some point as we got later in the season, he reached out to me just to see if I would be interested,” Allen told the media. “I told him that I would be interested.”

So, before that fateful game against the Commanders, it’s possibly that Johnson was already shaping his Bears staff.

Some Lions fans, of course, were not happy with Johnson putting this focus on the Bears position before leading the Lions to what they hoped would be their first Super Bowl appearance ever.

“Ben Johnson had already quit on his team. How pathetic,” one Lions fan stated on X.

“Lions had no chance of reaching the SB. Ben was checked out weeks before,” another stated.

“So what I’m gathering from this was Ben Johnson was already thinking about his new job at the end of the regular season when we had the playoffs still,” one more wrote.

Amon-Ra St. Brown: ‘Players Make Plays’

It’s understandable that Lions fans would not be happy to hear that Johnson was already lining up his staff before the end of the season. But, it’s also hard to believe that other soon-to-be head coaches haven’t done the same.

For now, there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between Johnson and the Lions, at least publicly. Speaking on the January 29 edition of his podcast, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said he thinks the team will be just fine going forward.

“We’ll be all right, though,” St. Brown said on the show. “Players make plays, right?”

Good point. While coaches are obviously critical to any solid sports team, it is, in the end, the players who make those plays. Detroit, thankfully, still has those players.