NFL insiders consider the Detroit Lions’ Ben Johnson the “most coveted coaching candidate” in the 2024 recruiting cycle.
Sitting at 7-2 heading into Week 11, the Detroit Lions have been one of the best stories of the 2023 NFL season. For the second year in a row, the Lions’ offense, led by play-caller and coordinator Ben Johnson, ranks as a top-ten scoring unit.
Jared Goff is playing the best football of his career, and the Lions seem poised for their first NFC North division crown in NFL history (it was previously named NFC Central when the Lions won in 1993.)
The work the Lions’ offensive coordinator has done alongside coach Dan Campbell has been exemplary, leading to Johnson receiving several head coaching interviews last offseason. Yet, another strong season, one that has the Lions set for even more success, has Johnson once again being viewed as an ideal future NFL head coaching candidate, possibly even one set to be hired later this offseason.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, “Many league sources consider Johnson the most coveted coaching candidate in this hiring cycle.”
Johnson, 37, has been a coach since 2009, joining Boston College as a graduate assistant. Three years later, he was working in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins, where he worked alongside Campbell. In 2019, Johnson joined the Lions as an offensive quality control coach.
Then, in 2021, Coach Campbell took over, and he not only kept Johnson on staff but he promoted him to passing game coordinator. A year later, Johnson became the team’s offensive coordinator, taking a unit that ranked 25th in points per game to one that ranked fifth in the NFL.
Last year saw Johnson interview for two head coaching vacancies, visiting with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. The Carolina Panthers had also been set for an in-person interview before Johnson opted to stay with the Lions for another season. While Johnson was already a popular head coaching candidate last season, he figures to be even more coveted once the season ends this time around.
