Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears are rivals with Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions, and it’s not just because they’re both in the NFC North. Johnson, of course, was with the Detroit Lions from 2019 to 2024, before he left to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears in January 2025.
So, there’s history between Johnson and Campbell, and that made Johnson going to a rival in the NFC North an even bigger deal when it happened. During the 2025-26 season, the Bears and Lions played each other twice, and both times, the Lions one. On September 14, 2025, the Lions beat the Bears 52-21, and on January 4, 2026, the Lions won again, this time 19-16. But, of course, the Lions didn’t even make the playoffs, so Johnson and the Bears had more bragging rights over them for the season.
After the Bears’ loss to the Lions on January 4, Johnson laid into his offense. “I was not pleased with the offense today,” Johnson said. “We can’t dig ourselves in a hole like that. I was disappointed with the offense as a whole. I let those guys know that. And we’ll be better for it.”
He added, “That’s one we’ll have to take a look at the tape and figure out why that was. I didn’t feel like it was one of our more elaborate plans. I felt it was one of our simpler plans. We need to do a better job of executing it and coaching it up.”
Well, now, both teams are in the offseason, and Johnson and the Chicago Bears are being predicted to make a move.
Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears Rivalry Heats Up
The Lions and Bears are already swapping players. On Thursday, January 29, the Detroit Lions officially signed former Chicago Bears tight end Thomas Gordon to a reserve/future contract. They announced the news on social media.
Gordon spent his rookie year in 2025-26 with the Bears. He signed with the team in August 2025 but didn’t make their 53-man roster. Then, he signed to the practice squad in December and wasn’t signed by the Chicago Bears to a futures deal after the season ended.
Well, turnaround is fair play. Now, Johnson is being predicted to sign a Detroit Lions coach, and it would be quite a move.
Detroit Lions Coach Heading to the Chicago Bears?
In a Friday, January 30 piece for SideLion Report, Candace Pedraza makes the case that Ben Johnson and the Bears could sign assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery after losing offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to the Ravens.
“That leaves head coach Ben Johnson with the job of finding Doyle’s replacement, and wouldn’t it just make too much sense to see him bark up the Lions’ tree for that job?” Pedraza states in the piece.
“Montgomery, who was the Lions’ wide receivers coach and an assistant head coach this past season, feels like the most interesting hire between the option,” he added.
“He’d be a huge loss for the Lions on one specific front, and that’s in their pursuit of keeping David Montgomery on the roster headed into 2026,” Pedraza added. “Montgomery, who had been dropping hints all of last season about his dissatisfaction with his role in the Lions’ offense, could be a trade or cut candidate for Detroit if they can’t retain Montgomery on the coaching staff.”
So, it would be a big feather in the cap of the Bears to snag Montgomery. Don’t put it past Johnson, either.
Ben Johnson May Steal Dan Campbell and Lions Favorite for Bears