With the news that Ben Johnson is leaving his offensive coordinator position with the Detroit Lions for a head coaching role with the Chicago Bears, the Lions find themselves needing to execute a coordinator search for the first time since 2022—when they promoted Johnson to the role.
Lions coach Dan Campbell spoke with the media prior to the announcement of Johnson’s departure and explained what his approach for a new coordinator would look like.
“That’s my job, is to replenish and find the next man up and the guy who’s going to give us the best chance to have success on both sides of the ball,” Campbell said of the team’s future without Ben Johnson and possibly Aaron Glenn. “So, we’re not going to allow that to happen—I’m not. […] it’s a loss, but yet, man, we move forward, this train rolls on and I’ll find the next best guys for us.”
Campbell would go on to explain that he planned on being extremely involved in any new coaching/coordinator searches, and identified a few key points that he prioritized:
- “We don’t (want to) lose what we’re about (or) our identity”
- “I want to make sure that Goff is comfortable because he’s playing at a high level”
- “I want to keep our terminology in place”
- “ I think we’ve got guys on staff that I think are more than qualified and would be outstanding in those (coordinator) roles…”
- “…but that does not mean that I’m not looking outside either”
- “I’m not going to be in a hurry, I’m not in a mad dash. No matter what happens I want to do what’s right by our team”
While Campbell specifically points out that he is opening up his search parameters, most of that checklist could be achieved by hiring internally, so that’s where we’ll start with our list of candidates.
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