One of the Detroit Lions’ biggest rivals is reportedly a favorite to land beloved offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head coach position.
After overseeing an offense that finished fifth in points for in back-to-back seasons, Ben Johnson’s group enters Week 18 with a league-leading 533 points for. At 14-2, the Lions would clinch the NFC’s top seed and first-round bye with a Week 18 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
According to Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the NFC North rival Chicago Bears are a strong candidate to hire Johnson as their next head coach. Fowler reports that there appears to be “at least some interest” on Johnson’s end:
Here’s what Graziano wrote about a potential Johnson-Bears partnership:
Ben Johnson’s NFL coaching career began in 2012 as the tight ends coach under Joe Philbin with the Miami Dolphins. He stayed with the organization until 2018, before then-Lions HC Matt Patricia hired him as an assistant in 2019.
Johnson has been with the Lions ever since, receiving a promotion to passing game coordinator in the midst of the 2021 season. Dan Campbell promoted him to the offensive coordinator role in 2022, and the Lions have been a juggernaut ever since.
Ben Johnson Will Be An NFL HC If He Wants To
The trend in today’s NFL is for teams to hire young and offensive-minded coaches, and no active NFL assistant has a better resume than Johnson. If he wants to be a head coach in 2025, he will be. The only way Johnson won’t get a position is if he decides to stay with the Lions.
