St. Brown: Lions OC staying due to 'unfinished business'

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown says offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told him he's staying with the team due to "unfinished business."

St. Brown recalled how Johnson contacted him in the early hours of Tuesday morning to ask him about signing a jersey before the wideout asked the coordinator if he was leaving.

"He said he couldn't sleep last night," St. Brown said on the "St. Brown Brothers" podcast. "He was thinking about it, and he said, 'There's unfinished business.' He wants to stay. ... He said his heart is in Detroit."

Johnson was thought to be one of the hottest head coaching candidates this offseason after his Lions offense ranked fifth in scoring and third in yardage. However, he surprisingly pulled out of the Washington Commanders' and Seattle Seahawks' coaching hunts and announced Tuesday that he'd be staying in Detroit.

The coordinator said he arrived at the decision after consulting with his family.

"Some people, they really want to climb as fast as they can," Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. "I know particularly young coaches want to do that. That's not been the case for me, per se. I want to be around football. I want to win football games. I want to be around good people."

Johnson, who has two years remaining on his deal with the Lions, reportedly didn't have his contract adjusted to remain with the team. It was also reported that his asking price "spooked" some teams.

The Lions made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game but fell short in a 34-31 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers after squandering a 17-point lead.