The Detroit Lions coaching staff is currently in Mobile, Alabama for the 2022 Senior Bowl, but head coach Dan Campbell is also using the week to interview some candidates for the Lions offensive coordinator opening.
On Thursday, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reported that tight ends coach (and passing game coordinator for the final nine games of the 2021 season) Ben Johnson has already interviewed with Campbell for the OC position.
Birkett noted in his report that Johnson is the favorite to replace Anthony Lynn, who was the Lions OC in 2021.
From Detroit Free Press:
“It’s really his vision for it and having his back with that vision,” Johnson said Thursday at the Senior Bowl. “And what he wants to see, where he wants it to go. I think it really kind of centers there. This is a head coach-driven team and that’s offense, defense and special teams, and where he wants it to go, we will go, and that of course depends on our personnel and goes out from there.”
“Listen, I mean, it doesn’t matter if you’re a quality control coach or wherever you are on the ladder, you’re getting evaluated every day,” Johnson said. “That’s a coach and a player. So I treat it the same as I’ve always treated every day I go into the office. Eyes are on me, I need to do my job, I owe that to my co-workers, I owe that to the players and you let the chips fall where they may from there. But I haven’t really wavered from that in my career so far and this is just another step in that process.”
Johnson said that Campbell still has not decided on whether or not he will be the one calling plays in 2022.
“As far as I know, he’s still deciding whether he’s calling plays or not, he’s still deciding who he’s going to peg as offensive coordinator, and hopefully we’ll have some clarity on the direction of the offense in the near future,” Johnson said.
