Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson oozes enthusiasm. Johnson has a very natural energy to him that radiates in interactions with the media. It showed in his side session at the scouting combine in Indianapolis this winter and it shone once again before Thursday’s OTA session in Allen Park.
All the energy and creativity won’t help Johnson in his new job if the man at the controls of his offense, QB Jared Goff, can’t perform well enough. Goff’s first season in Detroit was largely terrible until a midseason coaching change that saw Johnson get more involved and head coach Dan Campbell took over the offense for deposed OC Anthony Lynn. The final four games Goff played offered legitimate promise, and that’s what Johnson wants to build off into 2022.
“I’ve got a really strong relationship with Jared right now,” Johnson told reporters. “One of my top priorities, personally, is to help him have the best season of his career. One thing that we’ve done is included him a lot in what we’re trying to do schematically, and so we spent some time this offseason watching more of the stuff he did a few years ago in LA and how we can incorporate some of that, while also challenging him to take the next step in some areas of improvement for him as a player as well.”
