A former head coach discusses Ben Johnson getting his first NFL coaching position.
On Sunday, the Detroit Lions play a pivotal game. In the NFC divisional round of the playoffs, the Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions would play in their first NFC title game since January 1992 if they prevailed. In 1992, Detroit’s rival was the Washington Redskins. Washington won Super Bowl XXVI after defeating Detroit 41–10.
Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator for Detroit, is currently the Lions’ connection to Washington. According to reports, Johnson is the Commanders’ first choice for the open head coaching job. I asked Johnson last week if he knew Adam Peters, the new general manager of Washington. Dan Campbell, the head coach of Detroit, also talked about why Johnson was prepared for the next phase of his coaching career.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin is someone who is well acquainted with both Campbell and Johnson. In 2012, Philbin was the one that connected Campbell and Johnson. Campbell was the tight ends coach for Philbin when he was appointed head coach of Miami in 2012.
Johnson was hired by Philbin as an offensive assistant when he assembled his first coaching staff. Johnson was 24 years old at the time. Following three seasons as an offensive assistant at Boston College, it was Johnson’s first position in the NFL. Philbin recently discussed Johnson’s development as a coach with Scott Abraham of ABC 7 in Washington, D.C.
“Ben started out as just a quality control coach, kind of the beginning of the whole journey,” Philbin recalled. “He was with me all four years I was down there.” And genuinely just went above and beyond on every task we assigned him. He eventually worked for me as my assistant quarterbacks coach, alongside Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, so he was in good company.
Taylor was Miami’s assistant quarterback coach when he started his NFL coaching career, working under Johnson. Following a year in that capacity, Johnson took over as assistant coach and Taylor was promoted to quarterbacks coach. 2019 saw Taylor take the helm of Cincinnati as head coach following four more seasons as an assistant coach for three different clubs.
During his inaugural press conference last week, Peters was questioned about the most crucial quality he considered in a head coach. He mentioned leadership.
What kind of a leader is Johnson?
In reference to Johnson’s leadership abilities, Philbin stated, “Absolutely, I think they developed over time.” “However, I’m sure the guys in Detroit feel the same way about him as they did back then. First of all, I believe he is coaching for the right reasons; it’s not necessarily only about Ben Johnson. I believe that the real challenge is in assisting a player in realizing his or her potential as a football player and as an athlete. That, in my opinion, is what really drives Ben Johnson.
Johnson has interviews with other teams and is reportedly Carolina’s top target, so Washington has competition for him.