It was bound to happen. Whenever a team is as good as the Detroit Lions were this year, everybody is going to want a slice of what makes that team special, especially if another team cannot even hold a candle to them. Detroit may have bounced out of the NFL Playoffs in the divisional round, but the rest of the league wanted to see what Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson can potentially offer as NFL head coaches.
Glenn took the New York Jets job and Johnson the Chicago Bears gig, leaving Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes and the rest of the Lions to pick up the pieces. Glenn and Johnson brought with them several coaches from Campbell’s staff to their new homes. Detroit may pull back a bit next year, but that is largely expected. The good news is most of the players from last year’s team will be back with Detroit again.
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said as much while talking it over on the St. Brown Podcast.
St. Brown says “Players make plays, right?”
Here is the episode where St. Brown talks about losing his wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El.
As long as the Lions have Campbell, Holmes and high-end players like St. Brown they should be fine.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is in good spirits after Detroit Lions coaching drain
Losing assistants and rotational players to bigger jobs and bigger roles is par for the course in a hard salary-capped league like the NFL. Some may go on to achieve even greater things beyond what they did with their previous employer. However, the Lions still have the four most important pieces in place: Owner, general manager, head coach and quarterback. All four will be keeping them relevant.
Sheila Ford Hamp emerging as one of the better owners in the NFL came as a complete surprise. Her ascension to the top of this famous family’s franchise has been instrumental to the Lions becoming the best version of themself in decades. With her great leadership, she allows great men like Campbell and Holmes to flourish in their roles, which in turn allows for Jared Goff to play his best football.
Until we see issues pop up with one of these four people in Hamp, Holmes, Campbell or Goff, we should not be overly concerned about the Lions crashing back to earth. Those are the four crucial pillars of success in the NFL. The Lions are A to B-pluses in four key departments. Goff is not the best quarterback in the league, but he remains one of the best pure throwers of the football in the game today.
The Lions might pull back a bit next season, but don’tnot expect their demise anytime soon.