When Amon-Ra St. Brown learned that his wide receivers coach, Antwaan Randle El, was leaving the Detroit Lions to follow Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears, it wasn’t exactly the conventional way of finding out. In fact, it was more of a funny coincidence than anything else.
During an appearance on his podcast, St. Brown shared how he unknowingly discovered the news while casually texting with Randle El and other members of the Lions’ receiver group.
A Casual Text Turns into a Major Reveal
It all started when St. Brown was thinking about his coaching staff and remembered that Randle El was from Chicago. Curious about whether Randle El might be heading home, St. Brown decided to playfully reach out in the team’s group chat.
“I hit up the group chat, I go, ‘El, ain’t you from Chicago?” St. Brown recalled as quoted by Pride of Detroit. “I sent that. Next one. ‘You following Ben?’ Literally, I sent that at 6:17 p.m. Two minutes later, I get a call from him. ‘The [expletive]?’ I answer.”
Two minutes later, St. Brown received an unexpected call from Randle El.
“He said, ‘What’s up, man?’” St. Brown laughed, continuing his story. “He goes, ‘Hey man. How’d you know? Did that get leaked?’ I said, ‘Nah, I was just messing around.’”
A Step Up for Antwaan Randle El
It turned out St. Brown’s playful message accidentally revealed a big career move for his position coach. Randle El was indeed following Ben Johnson to the Bears to become their receivers coach and assistant head coach, a big step in his coaching career.
Despite the surprise, St. Brown had no hard feelings about the move. In fact, he understood it completely.
“I get it,” St. Brown said. “He’s from Chicago, too. So, it’s a step up, he gets to be receivers coach, knows the offense, knows Ben. It just makes sense for him. I’m not upset. I’m happy for him.”
While it may have been an unexpected way to learn the news, St. Brown’s reaction shows the camaraderie and respect he has for Randle El, and he’s excited to see his former coach take on this new opportunity with the Bears.
It’s always interesting when things go down in unexpected ways, and in this case, a simple text message led to one of the bigger moves in the Lions’ coaching staff this offseason.
