1. Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers got an up close look at Johnson's offense in Week 10, as the Lions scored 41 points and had 533 yards. The day after, Lions head coach Dan Campbell couldn't say enough about the game his offensive coordinator had.
"I thought Ben called a hell of a game,” Campbell told reporters on Monday. “My gosh, I just felt like he was two steps ahead. I think you’d be hard pressed to call a better game than he did offensively. I was really proud of him. It was great.”
Johnson also, metaphorically, reached into the Chargers' soul to bring back memories of their playoff meltdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars last year.
Lions OC Ben Johnson called a play yesterday that he stole from the Jags' playoff win over the #Chargers in 2022. The collapse in Jax. The 4th-and-1 Travis Etienne run that sealed the game? Yeah, that play.
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) November 13, 2023
“It was that same play," Derwin James said, "and they hit us on it.” https://t.co/PQDR6fuuQR
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is supposed to be a defensive mind, but the results aren't close to reflecting that. He is also fairly clueless on how to fix things on that side of the ball, leaning into the same words to describe the ineptitude. Staley's "defense" has failed a capable offense led by Justin Herbert, over and over again.
When he takes a head coaching job, Johnson is smart enough to know he would have to hire a capable defensive coordinator and as a practical matter turn that side of the ball over to them. With the Chargers, that kind of hire would be essential.
The Chargers are probably always going to "Charger" in unique and interesting ways to fall short of expectations. But when (ok, if) they wash their hands of Staley after the season, Johnson should be atop their list of replacement candidates.