By Sunday 
Losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn stings—but history and Dan Campbell say there’s still hope.
Let’s just get this out of the way—Detroit Lions fans have been through it this offseason.
You took that crushing playoff loss on the chin. You watched Ben Johnson, the architect of one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses, pack his playbook and head to Chicago. Then, Aaron Glenn, the defensive brain behind all those “bend but don’t break” Sundays, got scooped up by the Jets. All within, what, a month?
No one would blame you for still waking up in a cold sweat muttering “why couldn’t we just keep one?”
📉 CBS Drops a Cold One on Us
Just when you were trying to emotionally reset for camp, CBS Sports came swinging, ranking Detroit’s dual coordinator exodus as the second most impactful offseason move in the NFL. That’s not even counting the Johnson/Glenn departure combo being dubbed one of the year’s top gut punches.
And they’re not wrong.
Here’s how they put it:
“Both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn left the organization this offseason after being hired as head coaches… While Detroit still has Dan Campbell at the helm… their departures are a big variable.”
Translation: No one really knows how this is going to go.
🤔 So… What Now?
Luckily, there’s a silver (Honolulu Blue?) lining: History says teams can survive this.
In fact, in the last four instances where a team lost both coordinators but kept their head coach, all of them still made the playoffs the next season. That’s not exactly a guarantee, but hey, we’ve clung to worse stats in harder times.
Plus, Dan Campbell is still here. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned during his reign, it’s that he can rally a locker room like few others in the league. You get the sense that guys would run through a brick wall for him—twice, just to be sure.
🧠 Johnson and Glenn Weren’t Just Any Guys
Let’s be real: This isn’t your usual coordinator turnover. These were highly-billed play-callers. Johnson was practically a wizard with pre-snap motion and fourth-down confidence. Glenn, meanwhile, took a defense that once couldn’t stop a parked car and turned it into a unit that made just enough plays when it mattered.
Replacing that kind of talent isn’t easy. It’s risky. And for a team coming off a 15-win, No. 1 seed, and the highest expectations in franchise history—it’s bold.
But that’s kind of the Lions’ whole thing now, isn’t it?
🚂 The Train Keeps Rolling
Training camp is right around the corner. New play-callers will be tested. Chemistry will be built (or broken). And soon, the offseason hand-wringing will give way to game tape, touchdowns, and breakdowns on fourth-and-1 calls.
For now, yes—it stings.
Yes—it’s scary.
But coordinators gone doesn’t mean contender gone.
And if there’s one thing we’ve learned under Campbell, it’s this:
The Lions might wobble, but they don’t flinch.