Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is one of the top candidates for an NFL head coaching job in 2023. He has already had several interview requests and conducted interviews with various teams with openings this cycle.
Should he want to explore possibilities this offseason, Johnson is expected to have his pick of jobs, but why is he being spoken about as a potential candidate?
Ben Johnson’s Career
Johnson is the hottest name in this head coach hiring cycle, but he has worked his way into this position.
The Lions OC started his coaching career in 2009 when he joined Boston College. He has previously been a walk-on QB at North Carolina, serving only as a reserve player before graduating in 2008.
At Boston College, Johnson was a graduate assistant until 2011, when he became tight ends coach.
In 2012, Johnson entered the NFL, linking up with the Miami Dolphins. He served in various roles for the team, including offensive assistant, tight ends coach, and wide receivers coach until 2019.
Johnson then joined the Lions, where he was offensive quality control coach in 2019, tight ends coach in 2020 and 2021, and then passing game coordinator in 2021.
In 2022, Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator as one of the best, young, creative offensive minds in the game. He had an instant impact in Motor City, turning the Lions into a top-five offense.
In the 2022 regular season, the Lions were ranked fifth in total yards per game (380) and fifth in total points (453). He managed to do this with Jared Goff as the starting QB, a player many had written off after he was traded from the Rams to the Lions.
Then, in 2023, Johnson worked his magic again. Detroit was ranked third in total yards per game (394.8), ranked only behind the 49ers and Dolphins. The Lions were also ranked fifth in total points (461).
Detroit also managed to improve their running game in 2023, ranking fifth in total rushing yards (2,311), which is up from 11th in 2022.
What makes Johnson special to Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is “The way he’s explaining the plays. The way he’s detailed how we’ve got to run these routes in the red zone, I just knew the way he was talking to us, it just felt different.”
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The amazing job Johnson has done with Detroit’s offense led to him being linked with head coaching jobs last year. He had interviews with the Texans and Colts, while also having an interview scheduled with the Panthers before pulling his name from contention, opting to return to Detroit for the 2023 season.
This season, Johnson is again one of the best candidates and has scheduled interviews with multiple teams.
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