Jared Goff just had one of the best seasons of his career, but Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson thinks he can get even more out of his quarterback next season.
It’s safe to say the marriage between Lions quarterback Jared Goff and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson worked out well in 2022. Goff had one of the best seasons of his career, and the Lions had one of the all-around most productive and efficient offenses in the NFL.
Johnson took himself out of the running for head coaching jobs before he was to interview for a third opening in this hiring cycle. He recently appeared with Tim Twentyman of the Lions’ website on the “Twentyman In The Huddle” podcast, where he explained his decision to stay.
But Johnson dove into some other topics during the interview, including Goff.
"We saw him make tremendous growth from the end of last year, through training camp. Bye week, we dove in on how he would improve as a player and thought we saw the dividends of that in the second half of the season."
Ben Johnson has plan to get even more out of Jared Goff next season
Johnson continued on Goff, pointing to an offseason plan to make him an even better quarterback next season.
"The good news is this, when he comes back in the building, we’re going to have another plan of action for him to take another few steps forward, to where he can continue to progress and be an even better player than he was this past year. That’s the exciting thing, and knowing him, he’s going to embrace it and run with it.”"
Goff played very well most of this past season, with two notable road game duds against the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys that stand out in memory. So there is some room for improvement in that sense, even noting Goff’s marked home-road splits that don’t seem inclined to dramatically change from a raw production standpoint.
Of course making progress and being better doesn’t necessarily have to mean more yards and touchdowns for Goff, or a repeat of the just-finished season. But Johnson already sees where he can help his quarterback be a better player next season, which is a great thing and a sign of a good coach.