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Chicago Bears get new bulletin board material from Lions GM Brad Holmes

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 9:07 AM ET

The NFC North features some awesome rivalries. There's none better than the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers feud. It's the oldest rivalry in the sport, after all.

But the Bears may have a new foe at the top of their 2025 most-wanted list: the Detroit Lions.

Lions GM Brad Holmes recently appeared on the Green Light Podcast with Chris Long and addressed new Bears head coach -- and former Lions offensive coordinator -- Ben Johnson's decision to come to Chicago, and, well, Holmes wasn't too kind.

Check it out:

Lions GM Brad Holmes discussing Ben Johnson choosing to become Bears head coach:

“It’s a little like… why Chicago?”

(via @officialctpod h/t @greenlight)

pic.twitter.com/HU67qyOVX2
— Chicago Bears Network (@bearsnetwork_) June 13, 2025

Holmes, of course, praised Johnson, but took a few unnecessary shots at the Bears along the way.

"Obviously, there were multiple jobs that were open that cylce," Holmes said. "I knew he had interviewed for Chicago, but he interviewed for a lot of the other positions, too."

"I was thinking Chicago would probably be the last destination, or I was probably hoping that," he continued.

And there you have it. That last part. It sounds like Holmes's displeasure with Johnson joining the Bears was more about fear than anything else. Holmes knows Johnson was the key to the Lions' recent success. Now, he's in Chicago, and he's armed with an arsenal of offensive weapons that are about to wreak havoc on the NFC North.

"I was happy for him," Holmes said, "he's a hell of a coach, man."

But, the Lions' GM couldn't leave it at that.

"But, man, why Chicago?"

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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