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Ben Johnson first Lions coordinator to leave for head coach job since JFK was President
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- Ben Johnson first Lions coordinator to leave for head coach job since JFK was President
The Detroit Lions have a long list of assistants that got away and had major success elsewhere. Perhaps you've heard of Bill Belichick? Yep, Lions assistant coach in 1976 and 1977.
It's just one of the 59 reasons they are the only NFC team never to reach the Super Bowl .
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But Ben Johnson being hired away as new head coach of the Chicago Bears got us to dig into the archives with the question: Who was the last Lions assistant, or coordinator, to be hired as head coach?
You have to go all the way back to the John F. Kennedy administration.
Lions assistant coach Don Shula on the sideline with Pat Studstill against the Rams on Nov. 4, 1962, in Los Angeles.
Johnson is the first coordinator to leave the Lions for a head coach job since Don Shula took the top job with the Baltimore Colts on Jan. 9, 1963 . He was the Lions defensive coordinator from 1961-62 and became the youngest head coach in NFL history at 33 . As soon as Shula left, the Lions went bad , making one playoff appearance over the next 19 seasons.
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Shula only became the NFL's winningest coach of all time ( 328 wins ), including leading the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins . He won consecutive Super Bowls with the Dolphins in 1972-73.
FLASHBACK: When Don Shula left the Detroit Lions, everything began to fall apart
Wayne Fontes was promoted from Lions DC to interim head coach in 1988 and hired fulltime at the end of the season. No Lions coach has more wins (66) or losses (67) than Fontes.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson celebrates a play against Minnesota Vikings during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
Johnson is the first Lions assistant to leave for another franchise's head coach gig since 1973, when both John North ( New Orleans Saints ) and Chuck Knox ( Los Angeles Rams ) both became head coaches.
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North was the Lions' receivers coach from 1965-72; Knox was the O-line coach from 1967-72.
WHO'S UP NEXT: Ben Johnson is gone, but his replacement might already be on the Lions' staff
Detroit Lions assistants who eventually became head coaches
Other former Lions assistants who eventually became head coaches, but with stops in between:
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Bill Belichick ( Cleveland Browns ).
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Marty Schottenheimer (Cleveland Browns).
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Jerry Glanville (Houston Oilers).
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Sylvester Croom (at Mississippi State as the first Black SEC head coach).
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Adam Gase (Miami Dolphins).
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Jimmy Lake (Washington Huskies ).
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Brian Callahan ( Tennessee Titans ).
MAYBE NEXT YEAR: How Jeff Daniels and Peyton Manning said goodbye to curse of Bobby Layne
Detroit Lions head coach history
So how many head coaches who were Lions HCs jumped to another HC job immediately?
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Dick Jauron (was Lions interim HC in 2005, joined Bills in 2006).
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George Wilson (left Lions in 1964, joined Dolphins in 1966 in AFL).
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Buddy Parker (stunned when he resigned during training camp for the 1957 championship season and signed on with the Steelers — where he traded for Bobby Layne a season later ).
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Bo McMillin (left the Lions in 1950 for the Eagles in 1951, where he lasted two games before finding out he had stomach cancer).
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Dutch Clark (left Lions after 1938, joined Cleveland Rams in 1939).
Stay tuned for the best Lions coverage all year long at freep.com/sports/lions .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ben Johnson becomes first Lions coordinator to leave for HC since 1963
