The phone rang in the days after Ben Johnson left the Detroit Lions to take the Chicago Bears head coaching job.

Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown documented it with his brother Equanimeous on their podcast. The episode aired days after the Lions’ shocking loss to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

In the aftermath, the Lions lost their star offensive coordinator to the Bears. The podcast episode from seven months ago felt more like a therapy session for Amon-Ra than an analysis.

He referred to Johnson as “one of my favorite coaches.” He told Equanimeous, a former Bears receiver, about the conversation he shared with Johnson.

“I would want to have him in Detroit forever, but that’s not the reality of things,” Amon-Ra said.

A subtle shift had dev

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