INDIANAPOLIS — Lions head coach Dan Campbell hold Ben Johnson in high esteem. That’s clear listening to Campbell talk about his former offensive coordinator, who was deserving of a shot to run his own team. Campbell just wishes he didn’t have to face Johnson twice per year.

That’s the set up for the foreseeable future, with Johnson now Bears head coach. Great friends turned NFC North rivals.

“I love him dearly,” Campbell said in a Tuesday press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine, “but we’re going to have to play him twice a year.”

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Campbell wasn’t talking smack, merely stating the competition between the sides will be high.

“It’ll be different to see him on the other sideline after he was on ours for four years,” Campbell said. “It’ll be different, but that’s the way this game works. Someone’s going to be on our sideline and someone will be on the other. No matter who it is, we play to win.”

While the Lions are moving on with a new offensive coordinator in John Morton, Campbell had a real appreciation for Johnson’s contributions and what he brought to the table from an offensive perspective.

“He was one of the pivotal pieces in putting this offense together for (Jared) Goff and with Goff. That was big,” Campbell said. “And there were so many things during the game plans and the ideas he had in the passing game going into weeks was big for us. I lot of the things we used. He does not lack ideas, ever. He’s very creative in that regard. He’s a grinder and an unbelievably hard worker.

“…He constantly had thoughts on what I had and what I would do. He was one step ahead.”