5 things to know about Patriots head coach candidate Ben Johnson
Johnson has a local tie and a link with the team's most important player.
The Patriots completed their fourth head coach interview to replace Jerod Mayo on Friday.
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson became the latest to speak with the team. Due to the NFL’s rules on coaches who are employed by teams in the middle of a postseason run, the Patriots could only meet with Johnson virtually. But the 38-year-old reportedly had a “great” meeting with the team.
Johnson has been with the Lions since 2019, but he’s become one of the more recognizable coorindators in the league since Dan Campbell promoted him in 2022. Here are five things to know about Johnson.
He’s helped the Lions’ offense become one of the best in the league with unique play calls.
Under Johnson’s tutelage, Detroit has turned into one of the league’s most electrifying teams. The Lions have ranked in the top five in total yards and scoring in each of the three seasons he’s been offensive coordinator, a stark turnaround from when they finished 23rd in yards and 25th in scoring in 2021.
Johnson’s best work arguably came in the 2024 regular season. Detroit was second in total yards (409.5 per game) and led the league in scoring (33.2 points per game). Running back Jahmyr Gibbs led the league in total touchdowns (20) and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was in the top five in each of the three major receiving stats for a second straight season.
But there are two things that have happened under Johnson’s watch that have seemingly impressed the football world the most since he became the Lions’ offensive coordinator. First is the re-emergence of quarterback Jared Goff. In his first season in Detroit, Goff ranked 20th or lower in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passer rating, and yards per attempt. He’s been in the top 10 in each stat during his three seasons with Johnson, ranking in the top five across the board this season.
The other thing that’s helped Johnson receive a lot of head coach buzz is his ability to be creative as a play caller. In just this season alone, he’s seemingly had something up his sleeve on a weekly basis. In Week 4, St. Brown threw a touchdown pass to Goff.
On multiple occasions this season, the Lions have successfully run a hook-and-ladder for a touchdown. They accomplished that in their wins over the Cardinals and 49ers, with St. Brown running a designed route to catch a pass before lateraling the ball to Jameson Williams against San Francisco.
In their blowout win over the Cowboys, Johnson called for four trick plays. Three of them involved offensive linemen, while the fourth was a double lateral flea-flicker touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta.
But the trick play that seemed to be the most unique was the one Johnson called in the Lions’ Week 16 win over the Bears. As they were deep in their opponent’s territory, Johnson called a play in which Goff seemed to trip while Gibbs dove to the turf as if the quarterback fumbled the ball. However, Goff remained on his feet and threw a touchdown pass to LaPorta, successfully faking out the Bears’ defense on a play the Lions called the “stumblebum.”
While Johnson has received much of the praise for the trick plays, he recently credited three assistants for the creativity: assistant quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver, and assistant receivers coach Seth Ryan.
“They’ve been in charge of our specials for not just this year, but for the last few years,” Johnson told reporters in late December. “There’s a reason why we have probably a little higher of a success rate for those special plays, and they’re a big reason why.
“They have a ton of creativity (and) they bring a lot of ideas to the table.”
Considering those three coaches’ titles as assistant position coaches, it’s easy to wonder if they’ll follow Johnson to wherever he becomes a head coach next. Barrett joined the Lions when Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator 2022, while the other two have been in Detroit since 2021.
He coached at Boston College.
Johnson does have a little bit of a local tie. He spent the first three seasons of his coaching career in Chestnut Hill, joining Frank Spaziani’s coaching staff at Boston College as a graduate assistant in 2009. He held that role for two seasons before becoming BC’s tight ends coach, a role he got on an emergency basis early in the 2011 season after offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers took a leave of absence.
The work Johnson did at Boston College helped him make the jump to the NFL in 2012. He worked closely with Campbell, who was then a tight ends coach, for a few seasons on Joe Philbin’s staff, serving as an offensive assistant.
For a profession that typically involves many to move around the country on a near annual basis, Johnson has had an impressive streak of stability. Adam Gase opted to retain Johnson when he became the Dolphins’ head coach in 2016, making him a wide receivers coach for his three seasons in Miami. Johnson joined Matt Patricia’s staff in Detroit after Gase’s firing in 2019, first serving as an offensive quality control coach before becoming a tight ends coach in 2020.
He and Drake Maye attended the same college.
In addition to the small local tie, Johnson also has a connection with the new face of the Patriots. Both he and Maye were quarterbacks for North Carolina.
Of course, Johnson was in Chapel Hill long before Maye arrived in 2021. He also wasn’t the prospect that Maye was, either. He joined the Tar Heels as a walk-on in 2004 and mostly served as a backup quarterback, with T.J. Yates being the most notable quarterback during Johnson’s time there.
Despite the obvious link between the two, Johnson and Maye don’t have a pre-existing relationship, according to The Athletic’s Chad Graff. However, Johnson is “intrigued” by Maye and has been a “fan” of his, Graff recently reported. Additionally, Johnson was impressed by Maye in his draft study ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, according to Walter Football’s Charlie Campbell.
He was a coaching commodity in the 2024 offseason, pulling out of consideration for one job at the last minute.
With the immediate success that Johnson’s had as an offensive coordinator, he quickly became one of the top coaching candidates. He interviewed with multiple teams to become their head coach following the 2022 season, but he pulled out of consideration for the Panthers’ and Texans’ jobs relatively early in the process.
Johnson seemed like he was likely set to become a head coach last offseason. The Commanders flew out to Michigan to meet with Johnson for their first in-person interview after the Lions’ NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers. But during the flight, Johnson reportedly informed the team he was no longer interested in the position.
In May, Johnson explained his decision to pull out of consideration was so that he could “reap the rewards” of working with the Lions for a little longer while opting to be selective on where he wants to be a head coach.
“Listen, there’s a lot of things that go into it, a lot of reasons and dynamics that play a part,” Johnson told reporters. “Something that really resonates with me is, OK, eight openings this past year? What would you set the over-under, in three years, how many still have jobs? I’d put the over-under at 4.5, I would say there’s a good chance that five of them are out of jobs in three years. So when I look at it from that perceptive, if I get the opportunity to go down that road, it’s about, how do I get to that second contract? How do I set myself up?
“The stars need to align. I’m not going to do it just to do it. I love what I’m doing right now — love it. I love where I’m at, my family loves where we’re at, love the people that we’re doing it with. So I’m not willing to go down the other path yet, unless I feel really good about how it’s going to unfold.”
Still, Johnson’s move to pull out of consideration of the Commanders’ gig didn’t seem to sit well with some in the league. A league source told The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini that it was “simply outrageous” while ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last offseason that Johnson’s asking price “spooked” some teams.
In December, Johnson said he has a “fire” to become a head coach.
He’s looking to remain a play caller wherever he ends up and his relationship with Jared Goff could be a sign of what to expect from him.
Like many offensive coordinators who become head coaches, Johnson is hoping to continue his top duty from being an offensive coordinator whenever he becomes a head coach.
“I love play-calling,” Johnson told reporters in May. “So if I took a head-coaching job, I’d want to be a play-calling head coach.”
But Johnson recognized that there’s more to being a head coach than just play-calling when he explained his decision to stop pursuing head coaching gigs last offseason.
“There’s a limit to how much time there is during the week, so what’s it going to look like Monday through Sunday in that regard? Just want to make sure everything is nailed down,” Johnson added in his comments last May. “There’s an adjustment period for every person that takes that job. They’re learning on the fly. But I think the more that you have set and feel good about, that gives you the best chance.
“I was actually talking with someone the other day about this, was, man, the longer you’re in the coordinator chair, it does nothing but help you and prepare you more for the next step if it ever comes down the pike.”
An easy way to help alleviate some of the stress of coaching is forming a strong bond with your players, particularly the quarterback. Goff has told reporters since Johnson became an offensive coordinator that he’s an “aggressive” coach.
The quarterback also explained what’s unique about his relationship with Johnson compared to other coaches he’s worked with, such as Sean McVay during his stint with the Rams.
“How much input he allows me to have, and whether he takes it or he doesn’t, he allows me to say it and uses some of it,” Goff told reporters last January. “It’s fun for me, it really is. It allows me to really be a part of the plan in some ways.
“He’s a great listener and listens to not only me, but all the players of what they want, what they see. And that’s not only through the week, but on game day the same way.”
Maybe Maye and Johnson will wind up having a similar working relationship soon.
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