Hiring Cycle Drama: Ben Johnson’s Risky Move Sparks Coaching Chaos
Upon bowing out of head coaching interviews for the second straight year last year, Ben Johnson made it clear he wasn’t in a huge hurry to leave his post as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
Reports as this year’s hiring cycle approaches have confirmed that, suggesting Johnson won’t even interview for head coaching jobs he wouldn’t take. He is also eyeing the kind of organizational alignment, from ownership down to the head coach, he has had a front row seat for in Detroit.
There is an angle that says Lions’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn will leave for a head coaching job before Johnson does. As in, more specifically, Glenn will get his first head coaching job after this season while Johnson stays again.
Johnson recently said he enters this year’s interview process more prepared than he was the last two years, and before that he was more open about his desire to be a head coach some day than he has ever been.
Insider points to a risk Ben Johnson might take in upcoming hiring cycle
It’s not perfect science, but any team that’s looking for a new head coach inherently has flaws that won’t necessarily be an easy fix. Johnson has previously noted how NFL owners tend to be impatient, and new head coaches don’t often last long. That, as much as anything else, is a reason why he’s hesitant to leave a successful situation in Detroit.
But if Johnson wants to be a head coach some day, he will obviously have to take that leap at some point.
