Ben Johnson Views Dan Campbell 'Like Family'

Despite their new nature as co-workers turned rivals with Johnson staying in the NFC North, the first-year head coach admitted that he still stays in touch with Campbell. The two have history working together dating back to their days in Miami, and their friendship appears to be one not easily broken.

“We texted back and forth a few weeks ago. We have been in touch. That friendship is always going to be there. I view him like family, and I think he would tell you the same thing," Johnson explained. "That’ll never change. We have fond memories of back when I was just a young snot-nosed computer punk, as he likes to call it, in Miami. I feel like we have both grown up in this profession of coaching. He had been in it for a long time, as a player, and we both have come a long way. You look back at that Miami staff, back in 2012 and 2013, there were a lot of really good coaches on that staff. That’s part of the journey, seeing where everyone goes.” 

One of Johnson's trademarks during his time as the Lions' offensive coordinator was to dial up unique trick plays. As a result, the Lions are paying some attention to the potential creativity they could see from Johnson in his return to Ford Field.

“Look, we’ve got a menu. A very large menu of things. So, there can be anything, but we’ll be good. I mean, you can’t sit there and paralyze yourself with what if, what if, what if," Campbell said. "The most important thing is you’ll get in trouble if you don’t handle the nuts and bolts of an offense. If you can’t stop the run, we bleed out explosives, then that’s where you can get in trouble. So, I’m not worried about the other stuff.”

In his first game as an NFL head coach, Johnson suffered a 27-24 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings. Detroit is also coming off a defeat, 27-13 against the Packers, and will be looking to get back on track.

As a result, this showdown between former co-workers carries heavy stakes early in the season.