Ben Johnson is expected to be a very hot name when it comes to head coach candidates for vacancies around the NFL. But the 38-year-old could pull a surprising move and not take a job with a new team.
Pro Football Talk founder Mike Florio appeared on NBC’s “Football Night in America” show ahead of the huge Week 18 showdown between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Florio addressed Johnson’s status as a candidate for head coach positions.
“There’s no guarantee he will leave this year,” Florio said of Johnson. “The key for him is going to be alignment with the front office. That’s going to be a very important fact. Don’t be surprised if he ultimately stays put.”
Johnson surprised many people by turning down interest from teams last year and instead deciding to remain with the Lions for another year. If he does that a second year in a row, that would be an even bigger surprise.
The longer Johnson stays in his current role, the more he risks seeing his stock as a head coach candidate decline. Johnson is in his second season as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. Detroit is No. 1 in points and No. 2 in yards this season. They were Nos. 5 and 3, respectively, last season. There really wouldn’t be anywhere to go up from where Johnson is right now.
Johnson has been an NFL coach since 2012 but has only worked as an offensive coordinator for two seasons now. Maybe he feels like he still has more to learn and that he wants to be in the best position possible to succeed if he becomes a head coach.
