Based on the last two hiring cycles, it's not a surprise Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will be selective and intentional with his approach to head coaching opportunities that will come his way again in the upcoming hiring cycle.
This week, after being asked about his future for the first time all season, Johnson acknowledged how much he learned from the last two hiring cycles and confirmed he wants to be a head coach some day.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, in answering a mailbag question this week, reiterated his previous reporting about Johnson's criteria when it comes to head coaching opportunities.
"He (Johnson) has two criteria for looking at opportunities. Number one, he’ll want a team that’ll create alignment between the head coach and general manager. Number two, he’ll want to work for an owner who is willing to honestly identify his/her team’s weaknesses and address them aggressively. In other words, he’ll want what Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes got from the Detroit Lions in 2021."
"As I hear it, Johnson will only interview this year for jobs he can really envision himself taking. He won’t interview just to interview. And in the interview, rather than trying to assess an organization’s situation, or win the job, he’ll be selling his vision of what he believes it’ll take to win—so if an owner hires him, it’ll happen with buy-in into how he plans to build his own program."
It's entirely possible Johnson doesn't leave the Lions for a head coaching job after the season. He can and should be selective. While no situation will be absolutely perfect, the criteria Breer has reported are reasonable and there are jobs out there with a level of appeal (a quarterback already in place, for one).
Based on what we know, from Johnson's own words and the reports we've seen, we can cross some head coaching openings that already exist or may be coming off his list for 2025.
4 head coaching opportunities Ben Johnson won't seriously entertain for 2025
4. Las Vegas Raiders
It feels like Mark Davis could be a really good NFL owner. But he consistently seems to be in over his head, and incapable of hiring the right people. Taking on Tom Brady as a minority owner brings a certain amount of cache', which was certainly the point even if it interferes with his ability to do his job as a FOX game analyst as well as he could.
The Raiders are in position to draft one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class, and there are indications Brady will have input into the search for a new head coach (if Antonio Pierce is not back) and the eventual evaluation pertaining to a quarterback of the future. A new head coach, if there is one, would of course play a key role in determining who is selected as the quarterback of the future. But would Brady's opinion carry more weight? Would Davis allow the people he's paying to make that evaluation override the opinion of his "cool" minority partner?
The Raiders are generally not that appealing of a situation. The AFC West looks like a real bear moving forward, with three playoff-caliber teams this season (and one that has a rookie quarterback), so it's looking like an even bigger uphill climb to build a contender in Las Vegas than it otherwise would be. Johnson could find appeal in that challenge, but there are better opportunities that should be out there.
3. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys might do the inexplicable and keep Mike McCarthy, but it still doesn't seem likely. There have been ideas out there they would be or they should be willing to pony up with a significant financial offer to get Johnson as their next head coach.
If Johnson wants alignment between himself and the general manager, that might be a question in Dallas with Jerry Jones as the owner and general manager. Jones also shows himself as someone who doesn't acknowledge mistakes-how dare anyone question his approach to free agent signings, the timing of signing key players to long-term contracts, etc. Jones surrounds himself with "yes" people, and since Jimmy Johnson left almost everyone who has been the Cowboys' head coach tends to give off a neutered animal vibe.
There is a lot for head coaching candidates to possibly like about the situation in Dallas. But the oligarch running the show is a huge detriment to the pursuit of anyone who won't be seduced by the assumed magnetism of coaching the Cowboys. Johnson won't be seduced by that assumed appeal, in concert with how Jones runs things.
2. New Orleans Saints
Death, taxes and the Saints in salary cap purgatory looking toward every offseason. These are the certainties in life. Right now (Dec. 20), via Over The Cap, they are $63.76 million in the red for 2025. They may also have a new quarterback next year. Derek Carr's future in some doubt, with $30 million guaranteed for injury due to him in March. Carr is currently not healthy (broken hand and concussion), and if he can't pass a physical before that $30 million becomes fully guaranteed New Orleans would be on the hook for the full $40 million in guaranteed money next year.
Overall, the Saints could stand to tear things down and rebuild. But they also don't seem inclined to do so, instead fine with not making any drastic chances and occupying the mediocre middle ground they never quite escape from year after year.
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is regarded as a candidate for the Saints' head coaching job, with an assumption they'll have strong interest in him. For Johnson, if not Glenn too, there's not much to like about what's going on in New Orleans and they seem ill-equipped/unwilling to make moves to change that.
1. New York Jets
The Jets feel certain to have a lot of interest in making Glenn their next head coach, and there's some buzz the interest will be very mutual. But that's not the reason Johnson will avoid this job opening like it's the plague.
The addition of Aaron Rodgers has put some spotlight on it the last couple years, but Jets have been a picture of dysfunction for a long time. Owner Woody Johnson does nothing to foster a winning culture, which was most recently evidenced by a piece from The Athletic. There's a reason this organization has not made the playoffs since 2010, and it's the man at the top.
Namely, Johnson apparently backed off a trade with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy because his Madden rating wasn't high enough. The Athletic also reported Johnson and his family members have berated players in the locker room, noting one example where Johnson apologized to a player. Johnson's sons, apparently driven by what they see on websites and blogs, have their father's ear when it comes to decision-making.
The piece in The Athletic has more examples of how Johnson operates as a owner. Any one thing that's chronicled stands to turn away good candidates for their general manager and head coaching openings. The combination of all of them practically ensures they won't get anyone who has options (possibly including Glenn, no matter how much he may want the head coaching job).
If Johnson is only going to take interviews for jobs he would actually take, and there's no reason to doubt that, the Jets' job is clearly the top one he shouldn't want and thus he probably won't even interview for it.