
It’s not often that an assistant coach from the Detroit Lions ever gets a shot to climb the coaching ladder as a head coach elsewhere. Rarer still is that coach choosing to remain with the Lions instead of chasing greater fame and fortune elsewhere.
Yet that’s where we are with the initial report from NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero, now confirmed by multiple sources in both Detroit and Charlotte, that Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has chosen to stay with the Lions for the 2023 season. Johnson was scheduled to interview for the Panthers’ head coach opening on Wednesday and was widely considered the favorite for the job by both Panthers insiders and the sportsbooks.