If you've been following me this year, then you know that I am all in on the idea that Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson isn't going anywhere after this year.
Sure he's going to be the hottest head coaching candidate around, but he's also going to be the most careful. All we've heard from him on the subject is that he is not going to leave unless the situation is right and he does not want to be like the rest of the coaches around the league that are getting fired faster than ever.
“Something that really resonates with me is – OK, eight openings this past year. What would you set the over/under in three years for how many still have jobs?” Johnson said in May. “I would put the over/under at four and a half. I would say there’s a good chance that five of them are out of jobs in three years. When I look at it from that perspective, 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 that the stars need to align?”
That's really been the big thing in me saying that Johnson is going to stay. I don't think any teams that will be looking for a head coach this offseason can give him what he wants. What he wants his patience and connectivity between him and the team's GM. He also wants a team that has "recognition from the organization on what went wrong previously and their willingness to fix it." considering that we're looking at pretty much the same group of teams it's always been, it feels safe to say he's not going to get that either.
What he gets in Detroit is beyond what most offensive coordinators get and in a lot of ways it's better than what most head coaches get. He gets full reign on the playbook and then gets to go home to his family and not be the most stressed person in the world.
When we say full reign, we mean full reign. It's Dan Campbell's team and nothing makes it to the field without his say, the good thing is that he's not blocking anything.
"We always talk about it. And I can't off the top of my head think of anything that I've turned down, you know. So no, I'm I'm pretty open. So wherever he can go with it, let's go."
That means Johnson has all the creativity he wants. The other thing is that this team has tremendous ownership. Campbell explained on Wednesday why the Lions are able to succeed. It's due in large part to their owner
"In my opinion, without having the right ownership, it's hard to get to a point where you can have success and sustain it," Campbell said. "I think it's very hard. So we have the right ownership. And Sheila's outstanding man. She gives us everything we need."
As we know from Johson this offseason, ownership is one of the reasons he stayed.
"It starts with this place and these people," Johnson said. "Been here four years now and I believe in (principal owner) Sheila (Hamp) and what she's doing. (Team president) Rod Wood. Dan (Campbell), Brad (Holmes). It starts at the top and trickles down."
Ok, so let's recap.
- Johnson wants organizational alignment between the coaches and GM. The Lions got that.
- Wants to have freedom within the organization. The Lions got that.
- Wants recognition from the organization on what went wrong previously and their willingness to fix it. I honestly can't think of a franchise that understands that more than the Lions.
- Good ownership. The Lions got that.
- Patience: Lions got that
This team has everything that he wants and pays well while he has it. Why would anyone want to leave that to go to a team that's replaced their head coach 3-4 times in the last decade? Because that's what's on the menu right now.
We'll see what happens when it all goes down, but I'm sticking to my stance and all I keep seeing is further proof of why it's happening.
