The Detroit Lions hired Dan Campbell in 2021. Usually, when a new head coach comes on board, they clean house, starting over with a new staff. That wasn’t the case for Ben Johnson, who’s actually been in Detroit since Matt Patricia’s second season in 2019.
Johnson was hired as an offensive quality control coach in 2019, advanced to tight ends coach in 2020, and became the passing game coordinator when Anthony Lynn lost playcalling duties under Campbell in 2021. A year later, Johnson was promoted to the Lions’ offensive coordinator, where he led them to the NFL’s fifth-highest-scoring offense.
Now, Johnson is viewed as a rising star in the coaching industry. He’s received several head coaching interviews and remains one of the top candidates in the NFL. However, he’s been a bit hesitant to leave the Lions for an NFL head coaching job, and now we know what he’s been searching for.
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NFL insider reveals what Ben Johnson’s looking for
There’s no doubt that Ben Johnson is considered one of the NFL’s best head coaching candidates in the 2025 hiring cycle. But that’s nothing new. He was in this same spot last year and the year before.
So why doesn’t Johnson want to leave Detroit in pursuit of an NFL head coaching job? It’s possible he wants to help bring the first Super Bowl in franchise history to the Lions, but it could be that he’s being ultra-selective.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Johnson has two specific preferences he’s holding out for.
“It’s too early to say whether Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions’ highly regarded offensive coordinator, will become a head coach, but he is widely considered one of the top candidates. Despite interest last season, he chose to remain with the Lions to continue to learn and grow. With that in mind, the playcaller is hoping to work with a strong owner and quarterback, but I’m told he will be particular about his pick. We’ll see if this is the cycle when he decides to jump in.”
Dianna Russini on Ben Johnson
As Russini noted, there were seven NFL head coaching hires last offseason. The most an offseason has ever seen is 10, nearly a third of the 32 teams, which happened in 2021. However, Russini cautions that this offseason could be close to reaching double digits again, which should give Johnson plenty of opportunities to find something he likes.
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