Ben Johnson Under Fire: Lions Coach’s First Controversy Sparks Heated Debate
If not for the excellent match made with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and several other factors, Ben Johnson’s offensive coordinator hiring might come down as questionable or even a total whiff.
Still basking in the afterglow of taking over the team, Johnson definitely escapes real scrutiny in this case.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle is less experienced than the average NFL position coach. He only came into the league in 2019 in a vague Saints role as “offensive assistant,” then only started coaching tight ends in 2023 under Sean Payton with the Broncos.
And now he’s an offensive coordinator.
He is not a college lifer who stumbled upon a break later and moved into the NFL. His only college coaching experience was at Iowa as a student assistant from 2016-18.
Sure, it’s not an offensive coordinator role in the true sense of the term. He’ll not call plays in regular-season games but he will be working extensively on game planning and with quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett and QB Caleb Williams. So in this regard, it is an important role.
The really important Bears hire after Allen is not offensive coordinator but offensive line coach.
It is here where they’ve had so many issues over four years of quarterbacks being sacked 50 or more times, and with their running game collapsing this year once they no longer had a QB who runs better than he passes.
Getting the offensive line turned around is a two-pronged task, starting with personnel.
“We will develop a plan of attack for how to get that done,” Johnson said. “But I’m looking forward to getting an excellent offensive line coach in the building to help develop the young talent that we already have on the roster, and we will certainly talk about acquiring talent to bolster that unit as well.”
The name being dropped most often for this is Dan Roushar, a former Saints assistant like Doyle but with extensive NFL and college experience working with lines and tight ends. Brad Biggs of the Tribune mentioned him as someone to watch and anyone familiar with college football in Illinois probably has been aware of the name because he worked a few different stints at Illinois and also one at Northern Illinois.
If this turns out to be the hire, they’ll have an offensive coordinator lacking much experience, backed by a very experienced offensive line coach and can move forward feeling good about reactivating the ground game, as well as protecting Williams.
