Any chance he gets, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell will sell offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as head coaching candidates. He knows it's inevitable they'll both leave his coaching staff for that opportunity. It's just a matter of when it happens.
In Johnson's case there is some easy hint of 'if' he wants to leave the Lions, but he has made it clear he wants to be a head coach someday.
Johnson and Glenn are through their first round of interviews in this hiring cycle. Now they can't do in-person interviews with any teams that want to until the Lions' season ends or after the Super Bowl. So the focus for both is now fully on the Lions' postseason run, as it should be after the bye week allowed them to interview for head coaching jobs without having their attention divided during a game week.
Dan Campbell gives perfect response to question about Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson
The futures of Glenn and Johnson is an unavoidable topic right now. On Monday, in the midst of questions about the upcoming game against the Washington Commanders, Campbell was somewhat awkwardly asked if he had checked in with his coordinators or if he had gotten any updates from them about how their head coaching interviews went.
”Well, why would I want to know that? You think I want them to leave?” Campbell said, with a grin, before getting more a bit more substantive as he continued his response. “Yeah, I’ve got an idea of how they’re doing. I have not run in there and asked if they’re leaving yet. I didn't do that. At some point today (Monday), I'll talk to 'em about what transpired."
Before he was going to check in further, Campbell hinted at having some level of communication with Glenn and Johnson about where they are in terms of their head coaching interviews and the opportunities they may have coming. That's no surprise. While things can change quickly, Campbell surely has some idea if he'll have to replace one or both of his coordinators when this season comes to an end.