The Bears-Lions game Thursday kicks off the annual Thanksgiving Day slate of games, and both teams can give thanks for having their starting quarterbacks for the foreseeable future in Caleb Williams and Jared Goff.
And in the spirit of the holiday, the game will also feature a plentiful cornucopia of future NFL coaches, general managers and coordinators. No fewer than a dozen men from the combined teams are expected to go on and lead groups of their own in the coming seasons.
Let's start with Detroit, where coach Dan Campbell may lose both coordinators to coaching jobs at the conclusion of the Lions' postseason. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is widely considered around the league to be a top coaching prospect again this cycle. He has coordinated an offense that has been top five in points and yards each of the last three seasons, and currently the Lions have the highest-scoring offense in all of football.
Johnson has interviewed the last two years -- including six interviews last year -- but decided both times to return to Detroit. He could do the same this winter, as well, as sources have indicated Johnson won't just jump at any offer. He plans to be selective if he makes a jump, valuing organizational stability over a paycheck.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn interviewed for the Chargers, Commanders, Falcons and Titans jobs last cycle before returning to Detroit. He's coordinating the second-best scoring defense in the league going into the Bears game.
The Lions have surrendered less than seven points in consecutive games, including allowing zero points in the second half of three straight games. Detroit hasn't given up a touchdown in 10 straight quarters. And that's even more impressive considering the slew of defensive injuries Glenn has dealt with, from Aidan Hutchinson to Derrick Barnes to Emmanuel Moseley to Ifeatu Melifonwu among several others.
Should Campbell lose both of his coordinators, he has in-house options to replace them. Assistant head coach/running backs coach Scottie Montgomery is in prime position to either be promoted in Detroit or take an OC job elsewhere. Passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand and offensive line coach Hank Fraley are also well-respected in the league. And former veteran NFL quarterback Mark Brunell has served as the Lions QBs coach since getting into NFL coaching when Campbell took over in Detroit.
On defense, run game coordinator/defensive line coach Terrell Williams joined the Lions coaching staff this past year after spending several seasons in Tennessee. He served as Mike Vrabel's assistant head coach with the Titans last year.
Detroit's front office is loaded with talent under GM Brad Holmes, who could take home the Executive of the Year award this season. Assistant GM Ray Agnew is expected by sources to get GM interviews this upcoming cycle after following Holmes from L.A. to Detroit to build the first consecutive 10-win teams in Lions history.
Former Chiefs and Browns GM John Dorsey has been a senior personnel executive in Detroit since 2021. A team looking to bring on a veteran GM could look to the Motor City to find Dorsey. And Lions COO Mike Disner brings a unique blend of football and business to a potential GM interview, which is what made the Carolina Panthers request to interview him for their open position last cycle.
Keeping things in the front office, the Bears could soon have one of their products leading an NFL team. Chicago assistant GM Ian Cunningham is the only person leaguewide to have interviewed for multiple GM positions in consecutive years --he walked away from the Cardinals job two cycles ago -- and he should be a top candidate for jobs again this year. And senior director of player personnel Jeff King interviewed last year for the Chargers GM job.
While it's unclear whether Matt Eberflus will get a fourth year in Chicago, he has talent on his coaching staff who could and should get looks around the league in the coming months.
Defensive coordinator Eric Washington is highly respected around the league. Eberflus has been calling the defensive plays this season, but Washington has coordinated the defense that is eighth in the league in scoring. Washington previously served as the Panthers DC and was the assistant head coach in Buffalo last year.
The Bears offense has clearly been elevated by the installation of Thomas Brown as interim offensive coordinator. Brown has helped Chicago increase its big-play percentage and third-down success rate since taking over for the fired Shane Waldron two games ago. Brown, a finalist for the Titans coaching job last year, could get both OC and coach looks this cycle.
And quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph joined the Bears staff last year after several seasons with the Seahawks. Joseph has previously taken part in the NFL's accelerator program.
Brown and Joseph are both Black men. This year was the first time since 1988 where the NFL did not have a single Black offensive coordinator in a permanent position in the entire league.
The talent on and off the field will be bountiful Thursday afternoon, and the NFL could be feasting off it this upcoming hiring cycle.
