No wonder the Commanders new GM Adam Peters, is seeking to hire Ben Johnson.
Johnson, the current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, is largely credited with the job he has done with quarterback Jared Goff and the Lions offense.
In addition, Wednesday it was brought to light again how Bengals head coach Zac Taylor spoke of Johnson in 2022. What’s worth noting is Taylor spoke this way of Johnson in February, and Johnson did not coach his first NFL game as an offensive coordinator until later in September.
Taylor and Johnson both coached a few years in college before joining their first NFL staff (Miami) in 2012. Taylor was age 29, and Johnson was 26. Taylor, on the Dolphins staff for four seasons (2012-15), went from assistant QB coach to QB Coach to interim offensive coordinator.
Johnson worked on the staff through the 2018 season as an offensive assistant, assistant QB coach, assistant WR coach, and tight ends coach.
Taylor became the Bengals head coach in 2019. Three seasons later, Taylor volunteered, “I’ve tried to hire Ben many, many, many times,” Taylor revealed during a Super Bowl media session. “He always just gets promoted to where I can’t get him. (Lions coach) Dan (Campbell) knows that. I’ve always just tried to find a place for him on staff, whether it’s offense, defense, special (teams), it doesn’t matter. He’s one of those guys you want on your staff because he’s brilliant.”
“He’s just really sharp,” Taylor continued. “He’s got a mathematics background. He’s much smarter than I was in school. He sees things differently. He does a great job with the analytics side of things, as well. He’s just one of the really, truthfully one of the sharpest football coaches in this league, and he’s only going to continue to learn from his experiences.”
Brilliant, really sharp, mathematic background, much smarter, a great job with the analytics side of things…”
Next comes the interview next week with the Commanders. Adam Peters knows he needs an intelligent head coach. But he also made it clear he knows he needs a leader of the room, of the entire roster, the coaching staff.
Will Ben Johnson be that well-rounded, intelligent, and strong leader that Peters is seeking?
