Windy City Gridiron
Amon-Ra St. Brown tells how he found out Antwaan Randle El was going to the Bears.
Three-time Pro Bowl receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been one of the most consistent and productive members of the Detroit Lions since being a fourth-round draft pick in 2021. And with him every step of the way was his wide receiver coach, Antwaan Randle El, who was hired by Detroit in 2001 and was recently named the Chicago Bears’ Assistant head coach and wide receivers coach.
Our sister site that covers the Lions, Pride of Detroit, recently shared the way in which St. Brown found out his coach was joining Ben Johnson’s coaching staff in Chicago.
On this week’s St. Brown Podcast, Amon-Ra said he was thinking about the coaching staff changes taking place when he remembered that Randle El was from the Chicagoland area, so he messaged his Lions’ group chat he had with Detroit’s wideouts and Randle El.
“I hit up the group chat, I go, ‘El, ain’t you from Chicago?” St. Brown recalled. “I sent that. Next one. ‘You following Ben?’ Literally, I sent that at 6:17 p.m. Two minutes later, I get a call from him. ‘The f***?’ I answer.
“He said, ‘What’s up, man.’ He goes, ‘Hey man. How’d you know? Did that get leaked?’ I said, ‘Nah, I was just messing around.’”
Yep, it turns out St. Brown inadvertently stumbled upon the news that his position coach was leaving for a promotion with the Bears while just messing around with him.
That said, St. Brown said he was happy for Randle El, and his decision makes a ton of sense.
“I get it,” St. Brown said. “He’s from Chicago, too. So, it’s a step up, he gets to be receivers coach, knows the offense, knows Ben. It just makes sense for him. I’m not upset. I’m not upset about it. I’m happy for him. It’s just funny how it all went down.”
Randle El went to Thornton Township High School, which is in Harvey, Illinois, just south of Chicago.
Here’s another Chicago-related fun fact about Randle El: he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs before deciding to attend Indiana University as a dual-threat quarterback on a football scholarship.
