Lions need to prepare their goodbyes for Ben Johnson
The Detroit Lions are a good team and they have one of the NFL's best offensive coordinators in Ben Johnson.Which means he won't be around much longer because he will eventually take a head coaching job in the NFL. That's how it goes, these days. The league is all about scoring points and developing franchise quarterbacks […]
The Detroit Lions are a good team and they have one of the NFL's best offensive coordinators in Ben Johnson.
Which means he won't be around much longer because he will eventually take a head coaching job in the NFL.
That's how it goes, these days. The league is all about scoring points and developing franchise quarterbacks and rightfully so. If you have an elite signal-caller, then your team will be in the mix for as long as he's around. Therefore, offensive-minded head coaches are the best bet for getting the hopeful face of the franchise to where they need to go.
For instance, as soon as the Carolina Panthers fired Frank Reich, a ton of eyes turned toward Johnson as Reich's potential, future replacement. Even if Johnson turned the Panthers down back in the offseason. Betting odds even have Johnson as the leading candidate to become the next HC in Charlotte at 5/1, with current Panthers advisor Jim Caldwell (6/1) and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero (7/1) following suit, per Betonline.ag.
That's how hot Johnson is, right now: A team he, himself, rejected is still going to check in and see if there's any interest. Especially now that they have what is supposed to be the future of the franchise is Bryce Young.
The Panthers were very interested in Ben Johnson last year and it seemed like the place he might go since he grew up in the area. Then he cancelled the meeting and chose to stay with Detroit. I think he clearly dodged a bullet when he did that. If he were to go there now, Carolina has demonstrated that they have no intentions of being patient and that they have an owner who will constantly be involved. They already took Frank Reich’s play calling duties away from him this season. Just seems like a bad place for Johnson to be for his first head coaching job. – Mike Payton, A to Z Sports Detroit
Johnson is gone in 2024 unless something crazy happens
As with every NFL offseason, there is a very good chance plenty of head coaching jobs will open up over the next few weeks. The Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and Chicago Bears are three teams that will likely be looking for new HCs next year and the key with all three teams is they either have a franchise QB, like Justin Herbert, or they have two QBs they can certainly work with, like Justin Fields and Sam Howell.
And hell, with how things are going in Buffalo, Josh Allen may need a new head coach next year.
Throw in the fact that, except Buffalo currently, it's very likely the aforementioned teams are picking the top-10 come April – everything is set up for Johnson's departure in 2024.
It's never fun losing a good coach, but that's the price of success and it's a reflection of the outstanding job Dan Campbell has done when it comes to building the franchise. Just look at the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason. They lost both coordinators, but have kept things on track by promoting guys from within. Nick Sirianni has done a great job of building up his own guys to where he can swap them in and out once their priors exit stage left.
At least Johnson's last ride in Detroit is a fun one that should result in the team's first playoff berth since 2016.
