Wide receiver coach Antwaan Randle El exits Detroit for Chicago and a promotion under Ben Johnson.
The Detroit Lions are losing their fourth coach of the 2025 offseason, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Antwaan Randle El is joining Ben Johnson in Chicago, as the Bears’ new assistant head coach and wide receiver coach.
Randle El, who was born and raised in Illinois, joined the Lions coaching staff in 2021 as their wide receivers coach. Over the past four seasons, he has helped develop All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Kalif Raymond, among others on the Lions roster.
Always a bundle of energy and positivity, Randle El was well-respected and held in high regard in Allen Park. He has long stated his aspirations of becoming a head coach in the league and this move gets him one step closer towards accomplishing that goal.
While it’s not uncommon for position coaches to follow coordinators to new teams, the news is a tad surprising, as the reports out of Chicago had seemed to suggest that “Johnson isn’t going to raid Dan Campbell’s staff.” Still, it’s hard to fault Randle El for making the move to Chicago—or for Johnson to pursue him—as opportunities to climb up the NFL coaching hierarchy are hard to pass up.
In addition to Randle El, the Lions also lost defensive line coach Terrell Williams to the Patriots as he takes on their defensive coordinator role. However, the news isn’t all bad, as the Lions were able to retain offensive line coach Hank Fraley by adding a run game coordinator title to his responsibilities (which also likely comes with a nice bump in pay), and they also hired Kacy Rodgers to be their defensive line coach.
