Lions lose Antwaan Randle El and J.T. Barrett to Bears staff under Ben Johnson

The Detroit Lions have lost two more assistant coaches before the weekend.
ByBrad Berreman|
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Friday seemed to end on a positive note for the Detroit Lions, with offensive line coach Hank Fraley staying with the addition of run game coordinator to his title. But that was speaking a little too soon before the weekend came. In a quick succession Friday night, two Lions' assistant coaches were lost to former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's staff with the Chicago Bears.

First, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El is headed to the Bears to be assistant head coach/wide receivers coach under Johnson in Chicago. ThenBrad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported Lions assistant quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett is headed to the Bears to be the quarterbacks coach for Caleb Williams under Johnson. Both, obviously, are getting promotions with the Bears.

Barrett, who made our list of Lions assistants who could follow Johnson to the Bears, confirmed the news with a change on his Instagram profile.

Lions lose Antwaan Randle El and J.T. Barrett to the Bears

Randle El was an original staff hire for Lions head coach Dan Campbell in 2021. He has interviewed for a couple offensive coordinator jobs in recent years, as his work with the Lions' wide receiver group over the last four seasons (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, Josh Reynolds, etc.) has gotten noticed.

Randle El is now a step closer to his stated goal of being a head coach some day with the move to the Bears. He was also born and raised in Illinois, so it's a homecoming for him. He was due for a promotion on the Lions' staff or elsewhere, and it will come via following Johnson.

Barrett, is best known for quarterbacking the Ohio State Buckeyes to the national title in 2014. He moved into coaching with the Lions in 2022. He was an offensive assistant that first year with Detroit, and he has been the assistant quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons under quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell. Brunell is also possibly leaving the Lions, for a position on the New York Jets' staff under former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

Back in May, via Pride of Detroit, Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker spoke about his relationship with Barrett

"Yeah, extremely tight with JT,” Hooker said back in May. “Work with him and Bru(nell) an awful lot. So, you know, JT is just like my big brother. So he’s gonna get on me — little things, big things. He’s gonna make sure that I’m staying level-headed, whether I do something good or not. And when I do, do something good, he’s gonna always celebrate.”

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