ALLEN PARK — The offensive coordinator phoned his standout wide receiver Ben Johnson and informed him, “There’s unfinished business,” before the football world found out that Johnson was sticking with the Detroit Lions.
For those who don’t know, Johnson has informed interested parties that “he wants to take another shot at bringing a Lombardi Trophy to Detroit,” according to NFL Network, and will be staying in Detroit for at least one more season.
Amon-Ra In the “St. Brown Bros.” podcast, which went live on Wednesday afternoon, St. Brown discussed his conversations with Johnson. The night before learning, St. Brown stated he went to bed at around two in the morning. He set his alarm for 11 a.m. the following morning because it was the first time he had no practice or anything, but Johnson called before that.
“Who is contacting me, bro? I hear my phone ringing when I’m sleeping. “I have my phone set to Do Not Disturb,” stated St. Brown. “I check it, and I see that Ben Johnson has called.” I say, “Get up quickly and try to wake up,” and I respond. “How are you doing?” he asks. “I’m good, I’m good,” I say. Whatever, small conversation, you know? Then he says, “Are you still around, when are you leaving?” Referring to the jersey he wanted me to sign. He informed me about three weeks ago that his wife wanted me to sign a jersey. And I said, “I ended up making it to the Pro Bowl; I leave on Wednesday.”
“… There seemed to be a brief gap after which I said, “So, what’s up with you?” similar to how you conduct the interview? Are you heading out? He says, “What do you know? I’m currently en route to the facility. I had trouble falling asleep. He claimed that he had trouble falling asleep the previous evening. After giving it some thought, he declared, “There’s unfinished business.” He desires to remain. “The guys on the team,” he said, referring to me, Jared Goff, Frank Ragnow, Penei Sewell, Taylor Decker, and all the other players. He truly expressed that his heart belonged in Detroit. He informed me on the way to the institution that he wanted to stay. I assume that he informed Dan and everyone that he would be calling.
Since Dan Campbell elevated Johnson to passing game coordinator in 2021 and then offensive coordinator in 2022, Johnson’s career has exploded. He was a top candidate at this time last year, has been interviewed more than any other coach in the past few weeks, and most likely will go through the entire process once more in 2025.
And after missing out on the franchise’s first Super Bowl by 30 minutes, it’s understandable to feel like there’s unfinished business. The 49ers were behind the Lions 24-7 at the half, but the team lost 34-31 after letting that advantage slip away before the third quarter ended.
