With Ben Johnson now heading to Chicago, the biggest task facing the Detroit Lions is finding a new offensive coordinator. Over the past three years, the team has been lured to success by a top-five offense, and while the offensive roster remains impressive, Detroit must choose its next player wisely.
Our own Erik Schlitt has detailed 12 potential replacements for Johnson here, but let’s take a moment to dive into the qualities head coach Dan Campbell looks for in a candidate for the position. On Monday, Campbell was asked about the possibility of losing Johnson and detailed the qualities he would look for in a replacement.
Must be approved by Jared Goff
There was never any question that this team would be led by Jared Goff for at least the next three years, but Campbell went further and said he planned to include Goff in part of the search.
“I want his opinion. For me, that’s important,” Campbell said. “It’s important. That’s why Ben (Johnson) did a great job. These guys were working together, and the system was built from the ground up, and it was to help him and for him to be a part of it. And so, yes, it’s huge, he’ll have a lot of input. What he says is going to have a—he says a lot to me, I should say. Now, will this be the ultimate decision? No, it’s not, but what he says is going to mean a lot to me.
It must be okay for Campbell to be heavily involved
We’ve seen time and time again how people underestimate Campbell’s influence on the offense. When the Lions took away play-calling duties from Anthony Lynn in 2021, it was Campbell who took over. The Lions head coach said the mistake he made with Lynn was not intervening. When it came to acquiring players, offense became a blind spot for Campbell. So, moving forward, he’s learned he needs to be more involved in the offense early on, and he expects that to continue with his new offensive coordinator.
“That’s my area of expertise, if you will,” Campbell said. “So, I’m not going to allow this to happen (again). I’m going to get involved no matter what because I think it’s best for our offense.
No significant change in philosophy
Lions are what they are. Their offense is defined by a diverse running game, complemented by a multi-weapon passing game. Campbell says he won’t use this opportunity to make large-scale changes, but he will allow the next offensive coordinator to have his say on things.
“What we are is what we are, and we have been since I’ve been here,” Campbell said. “So, does this mean some things will be changed?” A few things will be changed, just the nature of the new coordinators if that happens because you want it to be a little bit to their taste, their style with. But yet, what I want is what we are going to do, what we are doing, what Goff and the riders are doing.
Similar terminology
“I want to keep our terminology in place,” Campbell said.
Although this may seem like a minimal requirement, it is not. NFL offenses vary greatly based on terminology, and players often talk about how learning new terminology is like learning a new language. With a roster filled with players who have been here under the same offense for the past three years, it makes sense to maintain that consistency moving forward.
