(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson withdrew his name as a potential head coaching candidate for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders even after his team was eliminated from the playoffs.
Johnson appeared to be a top candidate for a number of jobs after he helped lead the Lions to the NFL title game with a top-five defense in 2023.
Johnson will remain with Dan Campbell’s team for 2024, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that some teams weren’t interested in the Lions assistant because of how much money he wanted in a head coaching contract.
Ben Johnson was not the head-coaching lock that people thought and his asking price spooked some teams, per sources. https://t.co/cFl2FPBtcY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 30, 2024
Reports ahead of the head coaching hiring cycle indicated Johnson was looking to be paid $15 million per year as a first-time head coach, which would have made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL before he even coached a game in 2024.
Whether or not that is true remains to be seen, but it is also a little telling that two of the highest-paid coaches in 2023 – Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll – were let go and haven’t been hired yet while Mike Vrabel – another highly-paid head coach – is in a similar boat.
Regardless of why, Johnson’s return to Detroit is a big deal for the Lions as they look to avenge their NFC title game collapse at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers.
Detroit will return most of, if not all, of their key offensive starters as well between Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery in 2024 with Johnson still calling plays.
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