The truth came out a bit in Detroit Thursday, a little bit anyway.
Prodded by visiting Chicago Sun-Times reporter Pat Finley and a Lions media group who want to know if this is the end of the line in Detroit for Ben Johnson, the Detroit offensive coordinator finally opened up a bit about his future in relation to head coaching jobs.
When he was reluctant in the past to say even a possibility existed he would leave, this time there was honest admission.
"Yeah, I'd say this, I think there's a burning desire in every man to find what he's made out of and push the limits and see if he's got what it takes," Johnson told reporters, including John Maakaron from Detroit Lions On SI. "Yeah, there's a fire there. When that time is, I don't know when that would be, but there's certainly a fire there."
Johnson would have to be at the top of any team's list of candidates to interview, including the Bears. ESPN's Adam Schefter said the talk around the league is the Bears are looking for an offensive coordinator type as head coach to pair with Caleb Williams.
If there ever was any doubt in Johnson's mind about being ready to take over a team in the past, it seems to be gone now at age 38.
"I'd say I'm much more prepared than I was the last two years," Johnson told reporters. "The local media has been very gracious on me this year by not bringing it up.
"So, no, the last couple years, getting thrown into the coordinator role, things get on you fast and you don't really have time to think about the future a whole lot. Now that I've been through the ringer a couple times, had some interviews, I certainly do feel more prepared, just from a big-picture standpoint."
Johnson even offered up a comment on Caleb Williams.
"It's been difficult to sit down and study every throw, but plenty of crossover tape over the course of the year," he told reporters. "There’s no question this guy’s talented. I remember standing on the sideline last game and you can hear the ball whistle by you. He’s got quite a fastball and has some creativity to him and can extend plays, and is accurate down the field also. So I haven’t really dove in and can’t tell you much more beyond that, but he’s been impressive from afar.”
SI's Albert Breer in his mailbag addressed the topic at the request of a Lions fan and said Johnson will be pickier this year. He will want to be in alignment (contractually) with the GM and wants some assurances from an owner and front office people about intention to address the team's real roster needs.
"With that as the backdrop, as I hear it, Johnson will only interview this year for jobs he can really envision himself taking," Breer wrote. "He won’t interview just to interview. And in the interview, rather than trying to assess an organization’s situation, or win the job, he’ll be selling his vision of what he believes it’ll take to win—so if an owner hires him, it’ll happen with buy-in into how he plans to build his own program."
