Before most of the world knew that Ben Johnson was staying in Detroit, Amon-Ra St. Brown got word from the man himself.
The Lions offensive coordinator, who was up for head coaching vacancies with the Commanders and Seahawks, called St. Brown early Tuesday morning on his way into the team facility. St. Brown woke up to his phone buzzing a little before 9:30.
After a few minutes of small talk, St. Brown asked Johnson, "So what's up with you? You did the interviews, are you leaving?"
"He’s like, 'You know what, I’m on my way to the facility right now. I couldn’t sleep last night,'" St. Brown recounted Wednesday on the podcast he hosts with his brother and Bears receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. "He was thinking about it and he said there’s unfinished business. He wants to stay. He said the guys on the team, shoot, he said me, Jared (Goff), Frank (Ragnow), Penei (Sewell), (Taylor) Decker, all the guys, he said his heart is in Detroit. He wants to stay.
"On his way to the facility he said he was gonna call and tell Dan (Campbell) and everyone, said he was going to talk to his agent, talk to Jared, talk to everyone."
St. Brown didn't know if Johnson's decision was final because Johnson was still reportedly scheduled for a second interview with the Commanders later that day in Detroit. (The Commanders were also coming in for a follow-up interview with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.)
"I was like 90 percent, you never know what happens," he said. "I wasn’t 100 percent sure. I texted Jared and was like, 'Ben just called me and said he’s staying.' And once it broke on Twitter and everyone was texting me, I was like, 'I already knew, I already knew. Unfinished business.'"
The Lions have had a top-five offense in both of Johnson's seasons as coordinator and play-caller, and were one of only two teams this season to rank in the top five in both passing and rushing. St. Brown had the second most catches (119) and third most receiving yards (1,515) in the NFL and was named first-team All-Pro. He was also named to the Pro Bowl this week as a replacement for A.J. Brown of the Eagles after initially being snubbed.
St. Brown said he thought about not going at all, but accepted the invitation in the end. Jared Goff was also invited after as the NFC's second alternate at quarterback, St. Brown said, but "Jared's not going. ... He didn't want to go. When you get his age, he’s worried about other things."
"He’s made some Pro Bowls, I get it," said Equanimeous.
Lastly, St. Brown said that Johnson brought up Equanimeous, a five-year vet who will be a free agent this offseason, after seeing him in a Lions jersey at the NFC title game last Sunday. St. Brown told Johnson, "That’s probably the only time he’s gonna wear the Honolulu blue, unless he’s on the team." To which Johnson said, "Shoot, maybe he’ll be here next year."
"He’d love that," said St. Brown.
So, any chance the brothers team up in Detroit next season?
"We’ll see," Equanimeous said. "We’ll see what happens."