The Detroit Lions are facing a major change in their coaching staff ahead of the 2025 NFL season, with both coordinators leaving for head coaching roles. ESPN analyst Mina Kimes recently discussed the potential impact of these changes, specifically the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and expressed concern about the team’s ability to maintain their offensive success without him.
The Loss of Ben Johnson
On NFL Live, Kimes acknowledged that while Detroit’s offense is largely unchanged, the absence of Johnson could be problematic. “The loss of Ben Johnson concerns me,” Kimes said as quoted by Lions OnSi. “It’s easy to look at this Lions offense, which by the way, they’re not losing many players. Kevin Zeitler is a free agent, Dan Skipper, Tim Patrick, but for the most part they’re running it back. So you could look at them and say, ‘Cool, just hit copy, paste, you’ll be fine.’ That’s what the Philadelphia Eagles did in 2023, and we all remember how that went. Defenses in the NFL are constantly evolving, you have to evolve in response to that.”
New Coordinator, Same Expectations for Detroit Lions
With John Morton now taking over as offensive coordinator, Kimes noted that while the talent is still there, Morton must prove he can adapt and adjust in-game as well as over the course of the season. She continued, “New offensive coordinator John Morton, you don’t want him to obviously deviate too much from the proven formula and the talent is the talent. But he also has to show that sort of adjustment in games and over the course of the season for this offense to continue what it’s been.”
Kimes made it clear that while Detroit’s offense has been strong, it’s critical that the new coaching staff evolves alongside the ever-changing defenses in the NFL to ensure the Lions’ continued success.
