Ben Johnson will once again be one of the most popular names on the coaching market this offseason. However, unlike past hiring cycles, the Lions offensive coordinator will be a bit more methodical with the process.
According to Albert Breer of TheMMQB, Johnson is taking a “different approach” this offseason. Specifically, the OC doesn’t intend to “chase interviews,” and he’ll only talk with teams that he’s genuinely interested in joining. We heard a similar sentiment last month, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter noting that Johnson intends to be “highly selective” with his next gig.
Further, Johnson is seeking “organizational alignment” between the head coach and general manager. Considering HC-needy teams will mostly be seated towards the bottom of the standings, the coach is also seeking “recognition” from organizations about their shortcomings. This would require interested teams to explain where things have gone wrong and how they intend to fix the issues.
As the Lions have climbed into a Super Bowl-contending position, Johnson has become a hot name on the coaching market for each of the past two offseasons. He was viewed as the leader for the Panthers’ HC job in 2023, and he was in pole position to replace Ron Rivera in Washington this past offseason. Both times, Johnson decided to stick in Detroit, and after receiving a raise several years ago, his current Lions deal runs through 2025. The Lions would surely pony up if Johnson wants to stay with the organization, but it seems like the coach is finally set to lead his own staff. The Bears have already been mentioned as a potential suitor, and other teams will surely emerge as the season comes to an end.
On the other side of the ball, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is also expected to be a popular name as the coaching market heats up. Breer points to two squads that already have a connection to the coach: the Jets (where Glenn spent the first eight seasons of his playing career) and the Saints (where Glenn coached for five years prior to his stint in Detroit).
Jags need him, but he can see their track history under Shad and his son. It’s not pretty.
Well, Baalke needs to be GONE !!! He would prolly want some input on who his GM will be.
The conventional faith in coordinators feeds the hype machine. The two most recent head coaches of the Bears were both highly touted coordinators when the Bears hired them. Johnson is currently hyped more than either Nagy or Eberfluss, and his unwillingness to “chase” HC positions makes him all the more attractive. But apparently a HC must have skills different from those of a coordinator, no matter how successful he may be in that role. How do we know Johnson has those skills? And Thomas Brown, the interim HC of the Bears, was himself part of a failed coaching staff in Carolina before he became a subordinate in the failed coaching staff in Chicago. Then he has 2—count ‘em, TWO—decent games as the Bears interim play-caller, both of which his team nonetheless lost, and now he comes to us as potentially the next big thing. Crazy! And that’s why HCs who have actually WON something keep getting hired even though they were fired at some point earlier.
I think the Giants job is the most attractive if they let Dabo go.
Choice at QB in draft
Probably gonna spend some money
Pieces already there in Nabers Tracy Jr just need a good # 2 cause they have # 3s and need a power running back to compliment Tracy. Oh and a whole new TE room
Man I wish that were true, but their offensive line still stinks. Until that gets upgraded I don’t think that offense will ever be any good.
Well schemes can help with that.
They’ve invested a lot of talent in the oline first and second round picks.
Detroits oline wasn’t as good as they are now, you look at their starters under Campbell
Decker, Glasgow, Ragnow, Jonah Jackson, Sewell they all arrived prior to Campbell.
Decker 2016
Glasnow 2016
Ragnow 2018
Jackson 2020
Sewell 2019
Jackson moved on and was replaced by Zeitler this off season but Detroit wasn’t nearly as dominate an oline prior to Campbell. But really only difference is pre Campbell and current Campbell is the scheme and mentality he brought to Detroit. Guys have been the same for the most part along that line for a long time.
The offensive line in Detroit pretty much stunk 2-3 years ago too…..good HC’s work with their GM’s to fix obvious weak points so while it might take 2 years for the Giants roster to start to rise he would have free reign to work within a very conservatively owned organization with the Marra’s and Tish’s….
Detroit offensive line didn’t stink 3 years ago. It hasn’t been below average in probably 10-12 years. It just wasn’t what it is now, which is almost entirely because you took a quality LT, RG and C and added an all pro in Peneii Sewell to it
I think the Bears would be completely open minded about what Johnson would want to focus on with regard to players and scheme. Outside of McCaskey approving a high dollar contract (big IF), he’s said he will stay out of operations and let Warren/Poles run it. I think Poles and Johnson would be a strong pairing, but like the article stated.. There will be a lot of suitors.
I think the Bears are his top choice. Have a young and up and coming QB, draft capital, cap space, youthful roster. Comes down to how he feels about management
Just as important is how he feels about Caleb Williams. If he’s not sold on his potential, would they move on to yet another new QB?
He doesn’t have to chase anything. He could just get on one of those puddle jumper planes. Cross the lake and be in Lake forest in an hour. Done.
He might not want to stay within the same football division as his current team as a tip of his cap for the opportunity to the Lions….
Jaguars have ALL the same. Up and coming QB; many young players; an Owner who is NOT afraid to spend money. A new stadium on the way with millions of dollars surrounding that stadium. Will be interesting to see who he selects tointerview with. Khan will almost certainly wait until the last minute to fire Pederson and Baalke.
I’m not sure T Lawrence counts as up and coming QB anymore. Also their owner likes to meddle too much
Lawrence can be, he’s just been with bad situations and poor coaching since he came into the league. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stagnated, but it’s really dependent on him getting a good coach at this point. I’m not sure that every coach wants in to Jacksonville at this current moment, but I think that any coach would at least be open to coaching Lawrence on its own. The problem with the Jags’ job is Baalke. He’s a big issue, but chances are it won’t be hard to get rid of him if a new coach wants him gone after his issues this year.
As for Jacksonville versus the Chicago, I don’t think that there’s any question that the Bears overall have a better roster. They also unquestionably have a better GM. The big thing that the Bears have working against them, though, is their division. It’s always expected to be strong. Right now, you have three teams are expected to be playoff teams for the next two years at least in Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota. A team could be good and go 2-6 in its division, or be great and still go .500 in its games there.
Jacksonville, on the other hand, plays in a wide open division right now. The Texans are at the top, but are quite vulnerable. Both the Colts and Titans have QBs that need to improve or be replaced. Jacksonville has a QB, but needs a culture completely rebuilt. They have pieces-no job is perfect-and a wide open division. While the Bears are better built, the advantages that the Jaguars offer are more flexibility in the roster and a wide open division.
That actually brings me to the next two options that could open up, and those are New Orleans and Tampa. Tampa might not fire Bowles, of course, who’s done a decent job, but I wouldn’t say that they’re out of the running. If they do, as some think they will, fire their head coach (after, say, a collapse down the stretch), they have a capable temporary starter in Mayfield who could easily hold down the position and buy the new coach time to find his guy. Johnson’s had his greatest success with a veteran cast-off, so he should have some similar talking points. Plus, he’ll have the final years of at least one great receiver and a GM who could be a spender. Their line has pieces that look future proof. New Orleans has a vet QB, but their roster is gutted. Rattler and Haener could be developmental options, but their cap looks foreboding, the defense is old and bad, and their might have one receiver left.
However, both they and Tampa and Jacksonville share one big common factor, at that’s a wide open division. The advantage that Tampa and New Orleans share is that the NFC South looks like it’ll be up in the air longer than the AFC South. The two best teams on the NFC side both have veteran QBs who might not be there for two more years (and Tampa has the younger one). The Panthers definitely need time, the Falcons will need to let Penix develop whenever he starts, Cousins could drop off next year or be moved for Penix, and who knows what the Saints will end up doing. That division should be winnable for years to come.
The Bears have a good situation independently, but they need to compete with that. A lot of times, the strength of the division counts a lot. I didn’t go into the NFC East, but that division has that strength, too. I just don’t think that the jobs there match up as well in terms of flexibility for a future coach. Now, after writing all of that, I’m sure that Johnson will cut out and take the Raiders job.
I always appreciate it when AK gives us the concise abridged version 🙂
The scenic route, if there were anything worth seeing.
Whenever I read one of your in depth comments, which I do enjoy, I can’t help but think that it must be a thankfully quiet day on duty. No speeding cars, no domestic disturbances etc. which happens to be good for you and good for us. Keep up the good work, I, for one, appreciate your posts
Thanks el_chapo. I appreciate your kind words. We do hate the “Q” word around here, but thankfully I’m not on the road tonight.
Ak- The only hope we have right now is for the first time in recent memory we have the people who SHOULD be picking the new Head Coach ARE picking the new HC. The last time McCaskey did the coach search, Or rather whoever the fools he hired to run that search did, And came up with Eberlose. The man who couldn’t miss an opportunity to find a new way to lose a football game. I thought in 68 years I had seen every way to lose a game, But I was wrong wasn’t I. I’d love to have a transcript of that interview process and Eberlose’s answers just for some light reading while sitting on the toilet after Taco Bell Tuesday. You know when I’d probably have enough time to take it all in. I don’t know if the Bears will get Johnson, But I do have a WAY better feeling about the people who are hiring the next coach. I also have a good feeling about the Bears getting a new stadium, Especially since they’re willing to add to the kitty. I’m not particularly thrilled with where they want to put it next to Lake Michigan, Which reeks of the Tampa Bay Stadium issue which was getting there into a funnel. But like I said, I’m 68 and by the time it gets built I’m not gonna go anyway. Should be a nice selling point. Nobody likes Soldiers Field or the Chicago Park District cheapskates.
I have faith, as an outside observer, in the Warren/Poles combination. Hopefully Warren isn’t too hands on, but right now he seems assertive and asking the proper questions with promptness. That could be a positive, if the optics are correct in that he has a high standard. We’ll know for sure in a few years after we see some results, but it definitely looks like an improvement over the prior system, at least.
Right now, If you believe what they’re saying, Warren is going to keep plugging away at the stadium problem and Poles is going to do the coach search. It sounds like Poles will only have to present Warren with his choice to be rubber stamped, So we’ll see. At least they have the right plan in place for a change. If Poles had been allowed the time to make the first choice when he was hired, We might not even be here right now. I refuse to believe he would of picked Eberlose. Fingers crossed.
I read Eberlose and just spit everything out of my mouth !!!
I think the Bears fans are dreaming if you think Johnson is going to want to go there.
Hey to burst your bubble bigjon but it’s SLIM chance Johnson takes Bears gig. He’s already stated in interviews in the past he wouldn’t take a job in the Lions division out of respect to Dan Campbell.
I love this man’s thinking. These hot shot HC candidates jump at jobs and then it sucka cause the organization has no upward direction.
Last offseason, the Texans OC was a hot name. Not anymore this year. He needs more time running an offense before running an entire team.
I think he fully understands that Detroit was built differently. It was built with the full notion of equality among the GM & Coach & they confide in each other & trust each other. I saw the behind the scenes 2023 draft & you can see unity in the entire organization.
Poles doesn’t exactly seem like a hard guy to work with. Never heard anyone say he’s a tyrant yet.
This guy is really full of himself. Hopefully everyone passes over him again so we can get another year of articles on what a hot coaching candidate he is. The next Urban Meyer.
Lions fans hope everyone passes over him too… one thing he is not is full of himself. He knows what he wants and is confident about that… like most people, he wants a healthy working environment that has great growth potential
According to the 2024 NFL Player report cards…. Ben Johnson should be eyeing the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise as they ranked 5th in the NFL for working conditions and amenities. If he wants growth potential, Shahid Khan is looking for aggressive expansion overseas. Sounds like a match.
I’m more confused on how you somehow equate a young OC to an aged ex-NCAA coach like Urban Meyer. I mean there’s literally no similarity between the two other than they both have a background on the offensive side of the ball.
This guy wants the organization to recognize what is wrong and explain to him how they are going to fix the operation. Sounds like he is building in excuses for when the team continues to fail. That is like asking a chick to tell you how she is crazy and what she is going to do about it before you will buy her dinner.
I was sitting in a red team review one time and an executive looked at a team member and stated…. “Anyone can tell me the issues, I pay you well to tell me how to fix them.”
I think these are exactly the type of questions you need to ask before signing on. If things have been consistently terrible for years (CHI, CAR, JAX) there is nothing wrong with making sure that ownership on down is on a course to correct before taking on that title. I think it’s very astute and smart.
I would tell him to pound sand. He is interviewing for a Head Coach position, not running an organization. He needs to worry about if he will have a say in the team members and staff. He will have nothing to do with the organization daily operations, sales, advertising, stadium operations, sponsorship, fan engagement, brand development, ETC. If Ben Johnson is asking for all of that if will fail on an epic scale. Look no further than Ron Rivera and the Commanders “Coach Eccentric”, or CCC and GROW model of operation.
He is entitled to know what the team is planning to do before he takes the job. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. He might not get everything he asks for, But there is no harm in asking the questions.
Kevin Warren: “I would love to tell you where things went wrong Ben but that could take a couple of years and we kinda need a new HC here in Chicago sooner than that”. 🙂
Warren and Poles weren’t around when the loser coaches were hired. So they can’t really be expected to know how it went wrong. It went wrong when McCaskey did the Coach search and then dumped it in their laps. That’s where it went wrong.
You only get one first shot and often only the one. Makes sense he’d be picky. He’s been the best offensive schemer while working in one of the best cultures and best roster building situations. He also took over as coordinator of a team that already had an elite tackle and center trio. I wonder if this comes down to how much he believes in Lawrence or Williams.
Building an organization also requires he gets a good DC and other coordinators. BJ may be good at offense, but there are other units hell be responsible for. Note Eberflus and lack of an offense for 3 years, but solid D.
I’m not too worried about that part. There’s plenty of defensive coaching talent out there, and the most sought after coordinator in football shouldn’t have a hard time hiring, especially since he’s presumably going to a team that spends on coaches. If I’m, say, Robert Saleh, I’d be happy to partner with Johnson.
Bengals when ZT gets fired.
WILL NOT GET FIRED. YOUR OWNER IS TOO CONSERVATIVE.
My owner?
What?
I truly think that BJ will end up back in Detroit, SB or not. He is one of the highest paid coordinators in NFL and his young family is very comfortable there. He was on a podcast earlier this year, and I got the feeling he doesn’t want to leave. I think AG is a different story. He has wanted to run his own team for some time now, and is much older than BJ. So I think he will be the first choice of the Saints this offseason. Will suck to lose him as he is awesome, but we have several positional coaches that can take the reigns and go with it. Time will tell…..
That’s crap. Anybody who is worth anything always wants to improve his lot in life and the next step for him is being a head coach. There is such a thing as waiting too long. Happened with Fangio and by the time he bit it was over because he picked a bad situation. You need to jump while the iron is hot. He’s done it 2 years in a row now so there can be no doubt he has the qualification. Now move up.
Your assuming everyone who takes a HC job improves their lot in life and has no regrets…but is that really how it works? Are you content being 1526 or is your goal to move up to 1527?
I was 1525 and had to upgrade to 1526 when my account got screwed up and nothing worked so i had to start over. So if I become 1527 that would mean another catastrophe happened. Then I’d probably just change my name all together.
Why crap genius? Because he’s happy doing what he’s doing? Have you heard anything to the contrary that he’s leaving? Have you heard HIM speak on the issue? Didn’t think so….
Money talks and I think some team is going to offer him a bundle to become their head coach. Maybe the Bears but would he want to stay in the same division?
About 5 times what he makes as an assistant tells you why he’ll leave.
Hey to break it to you arm chair geniuses…Ben Johnson already makes more than 5-7 NFL Head Coaches as it is lol. Money doesn’t mean a lick in this situation. The Lions coaching staff collectively is Top 4 or so in the NFL in pay….just another way Sheila Hamp has changed the way Detroit does things.
He doesn’t want to leave Detroit
Nothing wrong w/being 1 of best OCs around n taking your time waiting for perfect scenario to present itself, especially since he’s already getting paid. Doesn’t have to shoulder running whole tm, not all the weight n pressure of being HC. I’m sure the competitor in em wants to run his own program @some point, maybe just not now.
Its always a mistake to take just any HC job bc there are only 32 available. Not all HC opportunities are equal.
Being in a good spot makes it easier to be picky and increases your demand.
His focus of course, is winning an NFC Championship. Then, like the Fang song, “the money will roll right in”.
Is there a huge issue being paid nearly $8M to do what you love in an organization that loves you back? Doesn’t sound too bad. Now leave that to go to a team that isn’t successful, doesn’t have great organizational alignment and you get canned in 2-3 years b/c you couldn’t turn a dumpster fire into a SB contender overnight? Yeah, I’d think before leaving to!