The Detroit Lions are coming off two of their best seasons in franchise history. As a result, their coordinators and many of their assistant/ position coaches were highly sought after during the 2025 coaching cycle. In total, Detroit had to replace eight coaches, who were vital in helping head coach Dan Campbell instill his culture.
One of the coaches Campbell was tasked with replacing was wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. Over the past four seasons, Randle El has helped develop Detroit's receiver room into one of the top groups in the NFL. Due to this, Ben Johnson hired Randle El to be the Chicago Bears' new assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.
Despite being hired by Chicago a few weeks ago, Randle El had yet to publicly thank the city of Detroit for the last four seasons. That changed Monday afternoon when Randle El released an Instagram post reflecting on his time with the Lions.
Antwaan Randle El Thanks Detroit in Heartfelt Message
Randle El's Instagram post read, The last four years with the Detroit Lions have been an amazing ride! Coaching the wide receivers was an absolute blessing—especially the 2024-2025 crew. “My Guys” were great! Special thanks to Sheila Ford-Hamp, Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell, the entire organization@detroitlionsnfl and of course, the dedicated faithful Lions Pride. Signing off, A new chapter begins
It's clear from his parting words that Randle El had strong relationships with his players and other people within the organization. That said, Randle El's impact on the wide receivers will continue to benefit the Lions going forward.
This past season, Randle El played a key role in Jameson Williams' development, helping him reach 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. More importantly, he was a strong voice when it came to behavioral/emotional distress. This was evidenced in Detroit's Week 16 game against Chicago when Williams got into it with Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
Randle El immediately pulled Willams to the side and talked to him, and there wasn't another incident during the game. This goes to show how connected Randle El was with his players. That's not to say the new wide receivers coach can't reach the same level of connection Randle El did, but it will take some time.
Nonetheless, Randle El's contributions and heartfelt goodbye to Detroit are much appreciated.