Lions coach Dan Campbell explained what the team will be looking for in their next offensive coordinator.
With Ben Johnson now heading to Chicago, the biggest task ahead of the Detroit Lions is finding a new offensive coordinator. For the last three years, the team has been dragged to success by a top-five offense, and while the roster on offense remains impressive, Detroit must choose their next play-caller wisely.
Our own Erik Schlitt detailed 12 potential replacements for Johnson here, but let’s take a moment to dive into the qualities that head coach Dan Campbell is looking for in a candidate for the position. On Monday, Campbell was asked about potentially losing Johnson, and detailed the qualities he’d be looking for in a replacement.
Needs to be Jared Goff-approved
There was never any question that this team would be quarterbacked by Jared Goff for at least the next three years, but Campbell took it a step further and said he plans to have Goff included in part of the search.
“I want his input. To me, that’s important,” Campbell said. “That’s important. That’s what Ben (Johnson) did a great job of. Those guys working together, and the system was kind of built from the ground up, and it was to help him and for him to be a part of. And so, yeah, that’s huge, he’ll have a lot of input. What he says is going to have a—says a lot to me, I should say. Now, is it going to be the ultimate decision? No, it’s not, but what he says is going to mean a lot to me.”
Must be okay with Campbell being heavily involved
We’ve noted several times how people underestimate Campbell’s influence on the offense. When the Lions took away play-calling duties from Anthony Lynn back in 2021, it was Campbell who took over. The Lions head coach said the mistake he made with Lynn was being too hands-off. When it came to acquiring players, the offense became a blind spot for Campbell. So moving forward, he learned that he needed to be more involved in the offense from the beginning, and he expects that to continue with his new offensive coordinator.
“That’s my area of expertise, if you will,” Campbell said. “So, I’m not going to allow that to happen (again). I’m going to be involved no matter what because I think that’s best for our offense.”
No significant philosophy changes
The Lions are who they are. Their offense is defined by a scheme-diverse running game, complemented by a passing game with several weapons. Campbell says he is not going to take this opportunity to make any large-scale changes, but he will allow the next offensive coordinator to put their spin on things.
“What we are is what we are, and we’ve been that way since I’ve been here,” Campbell said. “So, does that mean a couple of things get tweaked? A couple of things will get tweaked, just the nature of new coordinators if that happens because you want it to be kind of their flavor, their style with it. But, yet, what I want is what we’re going to do, and what we’re about and what Goff’s about and the runners.”
Similar terminology
“I want to keep our terminology in place,” Campbell said.
While this may seem like a small requirement, it isn’t. NFL offenses vary widely based on terminology, and players often talk about how learning new terminology is like learning a new language. With a roster foundation filled with players who have been here under the same offense for the past three years, it makes sense to keep that consistency around going forward.
