Lions OC Ben Johnson will reportedly be very selective if he decides to leave Detroit; 3 teams who make sense

Ben Johnson is going to be a hot head coaching candidate this offseason. But that doesn’t mean that the Lions offensive coordinator is going to take many interviews if he even decides to leave Detroit in the first place. 

Johnson, 38, has been with the Lions since 2019. He’s been the team’s offensive coordinator since 2022 and has overseen an offense that has taken off under his watch. Detroit’s offense is currently tops in the NFL in scoring and top-10 in the league in various other categories. 

“Ben Johnson is going to be very, very selective about the place that he chooses to go if he decides even to leave Detroit,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Thursday. “He’s going to be very careful.”

Schefter reiterated that Johnson will be one of the top head coaching candidates this offseason. But Johnson isn’t going to go anywhere unless he feels that it is the right fit. 

“Just because there are going to be, let’s just say, eight openings this year, and let’s just say eight teams have him on their wish list, doesn’t mean that he is going to be interviewing with eight teams,” Schefter said. “I think if Ben Johnson is interviewing with anybody this year, he is interviewing with the intent that he is going to take that job.” 

Johnson being selective certainly makes sense. His current situation is a pretty good one, as the Lions are 7-1 and are among the top challengers to the defending two-time champion Chiefs‘ crown. He’s coaching a unit that features some of the league’s top offensive performers that includes quarterback Jared Goff, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and linemen Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow. 

Here are three teams that would make the most sense for Johnson should they decided to part with their current coaches. 

Dallas has some issues at running back and on the offensive line, but it does have good building blocks in tow with quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb. Johnson would also preside over a defense that also has several key pieces in place in linebacker Micah Parsons and defensive back Trevon Diggs. An added challenge here would be the fact that the Cowboys play in the competitive NFC East division. 

The Jaguars have a franchise quarterback in place in Trevor Lawrence, who has good weapons at his disposal that includes wideout Brian Thomas Jr. and running backs Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. Johnson would have to clean up a defense that is currently 30th in the NFL in points allowed. A positive here is that the Jaguars play in a division that is wide open as far as second-place (behind the Texans) is concerned. 

While not too terribly attractive, the Raiders are among the teams that will likely be in the market for a new head coach. While there isn’t much here, one would think that Johnson would have the authority to make sweeping changes in an effort to speed up the Raiders’ rebuild. He would have one defensive stalwart in place with pass-rusher Maxx Crosby.