It certainly trended toward possible with only two head coaching jobs open, but it was still surprising. On Tuesday, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders he's staying in Detroit for at least one more year.
Johnson had been the favorite for the Commanders' job, but the way they were operating their head coaching search said they knew it was not a lock no matter how much they wanted him. The appeal of the Seahawks' job for Johnson was harder to see, and he never really felt like a strong candidate for that job. But Seattle pursued him to the end, with an interview Monday before Johnson apparently stopped short of doing his in-person interview with Washington on Tuesday.
So as he did last season, Johnson will stay on as Lions' offensive coordinator and try to pursue a Lombardi Trophy next season while postponing taking a head coaching job- as he did a year ago. It's still happening at some point for him, since this time next year Johnson will still only be 38 years old and presumably a hot head coaching candidate again.
The Lions' broadly benefit from Johnson's decision to return next season, of course. But in particular, these three players stand to benefit most from that decision.
3 Detroit Lions players who will benefit most from Ben Johnson's decision to return
3. RB Jahmyr Gibbs
With what Gibbs did during his rookie season, over 1,200 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns during the regular season followed by another 238 scrimmage yards and three rushing scores in the playoffs, it's hard to remember how he was eased into action early.
In the first four games of the season, the only time Gibbs topped a 50 percent snap share was the one David Montgomery missed (Week 3). Then he missed two games with a hamstring injury.
From there, Week 7-18 (11 games), Gibbs had over 1,000 yards of total offense with all 11 of his regular season scores (10 rushing, one receiving). He had at least a 56 percent snap share in every game through Week 17.
But overall, there's definitely room for Gibbs to do more. His snap shares were a little lower in the playoffs, perhaps owing to being a rookie and playing more games in a season than he ever had (not to mention a fumble in the NFC Championship Game). Over the last six regular season games he had more than four targets just once, but that rebounded with 14 targets in the three playoff games.
Gibbs clearly developed as a runner over the course of his rookie season, as expected, with his mix if speed and surprising power on display. He's a unique weapon in the passing game, and there's room to use him differently in that area (lined up more in the slot or out wide?).
Give Johnson an offseason to pour over tape of the Lions' offense, and he'll find other ways he can try to use players. Gibbs stands to benefit from that in his second season.
2. WR Jameson Williams
It took a little time, but more snaps eventually yielded more production for Williams as his second season wound down. 16 of his 42 regular season targets and 11 of his 24 catches came from Week 15-17, before he missed Week 18 due to injury.
Then he played at least 70 percent of the offensive snaps in two of the three postseason games, highlighted by a 42-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the NFC Championship Game. He also caught Detroit's final touchdown of the game.
The overall numbers for Williams over his last six games this season don't necessarily leap off the page on the whole. But his impact was notable and regularly visible.
Jameson Williams breakout season loading ⏳ pic.twitter.com/j4CGiydPNJ
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) January 29, 2024
Via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News, fellow wide receiver Kalif Raymond noted the work Williams put in behind the scenes to foster his breakthrough late in the season.
"Look man, I was so proud of him, man, because he was doing a lot of stuff that people didn't see even before practice," Raymond said. "Everyone is talking about (his) work ethic, but that dude was catching balls before practice, all kinds of stuff. That dude was working...."
Williams' second season development was set off course early by what wound up being a four-game gambling suspension. But he clearly earned the trust of the coaching staff over time, as he refined his game as a wide receiver (drops, etc.) and started to produce.
Williams was at times too often used as deep threat to clear space for others, only to draw an occasional target. He showed he can be more than that when given the opportunity. There's definitely room to expand his route tree next season, and the continuity of Johnson coming back to run the Lions' offense will only help foster a third-year breakout.
1. QB Jared Goff
A background question (and concern) in the conversation regarding the Lions signing Goff to a multi-year contract extension is and will continue to be...
"But what will he do without Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator?"
It's a valid concern, with how in concert the two are. Especially when contrasted against how Goff's relationship with Sean McVay clearly deteriorated toward the end of his time with the Rams.
That concern can now be postponed one more year. Goff continues to talk about how Johnson empowers him and gives other offensive players input into the weekly game plan, and in Goff's case the result speak for themselves. For most of the past two seasons with Johnson as the play caller, he is arguably playing better than he ever has in his career, including a lengthy interception-less pass attempt streak that extended from 2022 into this season.
That run together has made it a moot point that Goff is getting a contract extension from the Lions, and quickly made Johnson a top head coaching candidate.
After he decided to stay in Detroit a year ago, Johnson cited his relationship with Goff as a big reason why he stayed.
"He’s (Goff) one of the biggest reasons why I didn’t want to leave,” “I feel we are tied together to a degree. He’s an extension of me, and I’m an extension of him. I’ve told him multiple times his success is my success and vice versa.”"
The quarterback/play caller relationship cannot be understated. If it's bad, a team's offense stands to struggle often. If the two are on the same page, and the coach values the relationship as well as the quarterback's input as Johnson clearly has, it can be quite good and beneficial to everyone.
Goff is the easy No. 1 on this list among players who will benefit most from Johnson's decision to stay in Detroit for one more year. The synergy between the two will not be broken up just yet.