Upon bowing out of head coaching interviews for the second straight year last year, Ben Johnson made it clear he wasn’t in a huge hurry to leave his post as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
Reports as this year’s hiring cycle approaches have confirmed that, suggesting Johnson won’t even interview for head coaching jobs he wouldn’t take. He is also eyeing the kind of organizational alignment, from ownership down to the head coach, he has had a front row seat for in Detroit.
There is an angle that says Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will leave for a head coaching job before Johnson does. As in, more specifically, Glenn will get his first head coaching job after this season while Johnson stays again.
Johnson recently said he enters this year’s interview process more prepared than he was the last two years, and before that he was more open about his desire to be a head coach some day than he has ever been.
Insider points to a risk Ben Johnson might take in upcoming hiring cycle
It’s not perfect science, but any team that’s looking for a new head coach inherently has flaws that won’t necessarily be an easy fix. Johnson has previously noted how NFL owners tend to be impatient, and new head coaches don’t often last long. That, as much as anything else, is a reason why he’s hesitant to leave a successful situation in Detroit.
But if Johnson wants to be a head coach some day, he will obviously have to take that leap at some point.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano took at look at where Johnson “should” want to be head coach next season as part of their look at the upcoming coaching carousel as Week 18 looms, and Graziano mentioned a job that might come open before landing on a punch line regarding Johnson.
“If New England did come open, might Johnson want to go work with quarterback Drake Maye and the haul of draft picks the Pats can likely acquire for this year’s No. 1 pick? Johnson has been choosy and has made it clear he’s not going to leave the excellent situation he’s currently in with the Lions for just any old coaching job. If he stays put in Detroit for a third straight season, it could hurt his head coaching aspirations long term, but some of these situations aren’t exactly set up for success.”
In theory, Johnson will remain a top head coaching candidate every year until he leaves the Lions. But there may very well come a point where that status runs out, if teams don’t think he’ll leave.
It wouldn’t be smart business by teams who will be looking to fill head coaching vacancies down the road, but Graziano is spot-on to note the possible impact on his future head coaching aspirations if Johnson stays in Detroit through a third straight hiring cycle. But that just might be a risk he’s willing to take if there’s not an ideal fit, once again, this time around.
