Interview itinerary for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson at three, for now

Requests were put out earlier this week, and now we know when Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will interview for some head coaching jobs.

On Monday, after the regular season was over and teams with openings could really ramp up their head coaching searches, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was in demand. The Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers all submitted interview requests within the span of a few hours.

There’s a faint and unlikely possibility Johnson would turn down some or all of said interview requests himself. The team can’t block him, since those interviews are for a promotion, and even if he could Lions head coach Dan Campbell wouldn’t.

On the flip side, even after just one year as a coordinator and play caller, Johnson would be doing himself a career disservice to not take opportunities to interviews for head coaching jobs. It doesn’t mean he’ll be offered a job, or he has to take it if one was offered.

Interview schedule for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson set, for now

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Johnson’s immediate interview schedule is set.

According to Pelissero, Johnson will interview with the Texans on Thursday. Then he’ll interview with the Colts on Friday, and lastly he’ll talk to the Panthers next week.

The Colts also put in a request to interview Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, but there’s been no word when that interview will happen.

Albert Breer of SI.com has propped up Johnson as a candidate for the Colts, somewhat only behind Jim Harbaugh.

"And then, there’s Johnson. Irsay, with his past two hires, Chuck Pagano and Frank Reich, went after guys who were a little off the radar in an effort to find his own guy, rather than trying to win over a hot name. If you look at that trend, and the quarterback dynamic that’ll be in play with that hire, Johnson actually lines up nicely."

There are two current head coaching openings Johnson is not lined up to interview for, at least not yet–the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos. He has made a list of candidates for the Cardinals, but they also have to hire a new general manager. So their head coaching search likely won’t start in full earnest until that is done.

The Broncos have interviewed some candidates, including former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell. It’s unclear at this point if Johnson is on their radar at all.

It’s possible, though fairly unlikely, that Johnson doesn’t make it to all three head coaching interviews before he’s offered a job. But his itinerary is set, and he’ll be busy over the next handful of days.