Brad Holmes on Jared Goff: I don’t foresee any drop-off without Ben Johnson

Lions quarterback Jared Goff was named an MVP finalist on Thursday and that speaks to how much he thrived with Ben Johnson calling the offensive plays in Detroit.

Johnson’s time as the Lions’ offensive coordinator came to an end when he was hired as the Bears head coach this week, but Lions General Manager Brad Holmes isn’t concerned that Goff’s run of success is also going to reach the finish line. Holmes said at a Thursday press conference that Goff has continued improving throughout his time in Detroit and that he has “faith” that head coach Dan Campbell’s plans for the future will ensure that remains the case.

“Obviously, he was very productive with Ben as a coordinator but he had a lot of prior success before he even got here as well in a completely different system,” Holmes said. “I think he’s a better quarterback, a more mature quarterback now than he was then when he had early success. I don’t foresee that. I think the guy’s in his prime. He’s gotten better and better every year. And when I say prime, I think, like, just entering it because he keeps ascending.”

The Lions have already lost three key assistants from Campbell’s staff and other coaches could also move on this offseason and that will make Goff’s performance one of several things to track while trying to determine if the team will be able to stay the course.