The Lions may be looking to steal their next OC back from the Bears, but they’ll have competition
The Detroit Lions’ next OC might have been on their staff last year.
Don’t let anyone try to tell you that the Detroit Lions’ offense was a big failure without Ben Johnson. As we write this, the Lions are first in the NFL in points for and third in total yards.
They could not get over the late-season offensive line injuries to save their lives, though. With all that said, the Lions are fully expected to be on the lookout for a new offensive coordinator once the season is over, and they might steal that guy back from their Week 18 opponent.
NFL Insider believes the Lions could be raiding the Chicago Bears’ coaching staff to find their next OC
CBS insider Jonathan Jones conducted an intel dump on what he’s been hearing around the league this past weekend, and in that, he speculated that the Lions could be considering a raid on the Bears’ staff.
“League sources believe Dan Campbell will be in the market for a new offensive coordinator this year, and perhaps he pulls from Johnson’s staff one year after Johnson took flight from Detroit.”
There’s only one guy on that staff who makes a ton of sense for the Lions, and that was a guy who was on the Lions staff last season: Bears’ quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett. The former Ohio State Buckeye quarterback was with the Lions from 2022 to 2024 and left as the team’s assistant quarterbacks coach under Mark Brunell.
Why JT Barrett makes sense as Lions’ next offensive coordinator
That is far from the only thing Barrett did in Detroit. Bears head coach Ben Johnson credited Barrett, Seth Ryan, and Seve Oliver for being a big part of installing the Lions’ specials in 2024 and beyond.
“They’ve been in charge of our specials for not just this year, but for the last few years, and there’s a reason why we have probably a little higher success rate for those special plays, and they’re a big reason why.” Johnson said in 2024.” They have a ton of creativity, they bring a lot of ideas to the table, so I really wanted to start off here today by giving them a shoutout. They’ve been doing a great job here for the last three years, and they’re certainly deserving of more responsibility, not only here, but maybe elsewhere as well, wherever that opportunity unfolds.”
Johnson also had Barrett working with and sitting in with other position coaches while in Detroit to expand his knowledge in preparation for a bigger role. So he’s worked plenty with Scottie Montgomery and Hank Fraley. Being back in Detroit with Ryan and Oliver could help unlock the creativity this Lions team missed in 2025.
If the Lions want Barrett back, they may have to fight off some competition. ESPN’s Louis Riddick speculated recently that Barrett could be a good fit for the New York Giants head coach job. That is a huge jump for Barrett to make. There is no doubt that he is a guy who can take on that role someday, but making that jump in his fifth year of coaching is a huge leap. Being an OC is the likely next step. Maybe that step comes with the Lions.
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