Ben Johnson opens up on shutting down head-coaching jobs: I want to win in Detroit

INDIANAPOLIS — Ben Johnson went into Lambeau Field and helped lead the Detroit Lions to a statement win against the Green Bay Packers. Less than 48 hours later, he was on the phone with the Houston Texans.

By week’s end, he was interviewing with the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts for their head-coaching vacancies too.

That’d be a whirlwind week for anyone. For a 36-year-old offensive coordinator who just wrapped up his first season as a playcaller and was going through the hiring cycle for the first time, it was a really difficult week. Really exciting, and really difficult.

Then the weekend hit, and he had a chance to speak with his wife before interviews were scheduled to pick back up the following week.

“Talked to my wife about it, and we just came to a really good decision of, ‘Hey, you know, we’re happy where we are. We love where we are. We love being in Detroit, love the people here,’ and just decided then to go ahead and put the brakes on it right now,” Johnson said on Thursday during a wide-ranging interview at the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis. “Just wasn’t the time for us.”

Johnson was still scheduled to get on a plane for an in-person interview the following week with the Panthers, a fascinating gig for the former all-state quarterback from Ashville, N.C. He walked on at North Carolina before getting into coaching, then landed a low-level job as a quality control coach in Detroit. Three years later, he was one of the hottest head-coaching candidates in the NFL and the favorite for the job in his home state.

Johnson said thanks, but no thanks, and informed the Lions he would return for another season.

Why? Why shut down interviews for three of the top 32 jobs in the world? When windows for those jobs rarely open? And are never guaranteed to open again?

“There is no doubt that these opportunities aren’t guaranteed,” Johnson said. “They don’t come along very often, there are only 32 of the jobs, and I was honored that I had three requests come out. Like I said, did some due diligence on it, but I think some people — I can just speak on a personal level — some people, they really want to climb as fast as they can. I know particularly young coaches want to do that. That’s not been the case for me, per se. I want to be around football. I want to win football games. I want to be around good people. And when I finally had a chance to step back and take a deep breath and look at it, that was the most important thing.

“I love Dan Campbell, I’ve known him for a long time. I believe in the direction of this organization. And so that truly was the biggest drawing point for me to come back, was what we have here, what we’re building here, is something I want to be a part of. I’ve been a part of a number of losing seasons in my 11 years in the NFL.”

In his first 10 seasons in the league, first with Miami and then Detroit, Johnson was part of one winning team.

Then the Lions won eight of their final 10 games last year, and came within a tiebreaker of punching their ticket to a historic playoff bid.

“To feel us get so close to making the playoffs this year, and knowing the players we have, knowing what Brad (Holmes) has been able to do in his short time here in acquiring this talent — this personnel — it really makes me feel like, man, we just got to kick that door down,” Johnson said. “Get our foot into the dance, and all bets are off when that happens.”

Johnson’s rise has been stunning. He was promoted from quality control coach to tight ends coach in 2020, and immediately helped turn T.J. Hockenson into a Pro Bowler. Then when the offense was in crisis under Anthony Lynn a year later, Johnson became the de facto passing game coordinator and Jared Goff immediately went from one of the worst quarterbacks in the league, to one of the best.

Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator last offseason — over current running backs coach and assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery — and the offense hit extraordinary heights. They ranked fifth in points, fourth in total yards and eighth in passing last season. The running game enjoyed its best campaign since the Barry Sanders era. But the greatest successes came under center.

Goff was so bad in his final years in Los Angeles that he was packaged with three draft picks, including two first-rounders, in the Matthew Stafford trade. This past season, Goff outplayed Stafford while finishing among the league leaders in yards (sixth), touchdowns (fifth) and passer rating (seventh), all while throwing a career-low seven interceptions. He didn’t throw a single pick on his final 324 passes of the season, the fifth-longest streak in NFL history, and was named to the Pro Bowl for his efforts.

Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, center Frank Ragnow and right tackle Penei Sewell also were named to the Pro Bowl, representing Detroit’s largest contingent of offensive players since 1971.

Two words: Ben Johnson.

“He’s been as instrumental as any coach I’ve ever had,” Goff said. “Our communication is as good as I’ve ever been a part of, and he does a great job with not just me, but everybody. And I joked middle of the year that I would stop saying nice things about him, because I know where that heads. But if he does end up (landing a head coaching job), I’ll be thrilled for him. He’s a hell of a coach, and that’s why you get in this profession, is to do that.

“But selfishly, I’d love to continue to play for him.”

He will, although at this rate, you have to wonder for how long.

Johnson is now among the hottest young offensive minds in the league, and young offensive minds have become the candidates de jour for head-coaching positions. With another season like the last one, Johnson will be more in demand next offseason.

Now he has some valuable experience to navigate that process too.

“I think you have a better feel for what type of questions are going to come down the pike,” Johnson said. “It’s one thing to, like I said, great support staff here and they were kind of shedding light on what could come down the pike. But if you have a spring, you have a summer, you have years to develop what you truly believe in and get it down on paper, the people you’d want to bring with you, which that’s always changing as you’re networking and meeting more people. I think those are the things that can, rather than starting from scratch, like I did, it would give you a leg up if there is another go-around.”

No doubt, and more success will give Johnson more access to better people for his future staff. He’s already seeing the difference these days. He’s been coming to the NFL combine for years, but now he can’t walk these halls for long without someone reaching out their hand.

“It’s just different walking through the convention center,” he said. “Everyone wants to say hello and that sort of thing. And that’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing.”

Lots of good things are happening for Ben Johnson and the Detroit Lions these days. Now their top-five offense is set to return at least nine starters, while negotiations are under way to bring back yet another in running back Jamaal Williams.

Another year like the last one, and Johnson could have even more opportunities to mull.

“Nothing is guaranteed, and that’s OK,” he said. “That’s something me and my wife talked about. If that’s the case (and a head-coaching job never happens), we’ll be at peace with it. I haven’t lost any sleep or have any regrets doing what we did. We are very happy.”