The patriots spoke with one of the top head coaching candidates on the market.
The team held a virtual interview with the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on friday This is the team’s fourth interview as owner Robert Kraft is looking to hire a new Patriots head coach for the 2025 NFL season.
Johnson, 38, has been considered one of the top prospects in the last two NFL recruiting cycles. Since taking over the Lions’ offense, Detroit finished fifth in the NFL in scoring in 2022 and 2023 and first in the league last season. The Lions averaged 33.2 points per game.
The Patriots haven’t scored more than 30 points in a game since 2022.
It has been reported that Johnson will only accept interviews with teams for which he is willing to leave Detroit. The Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars will also meet with the offensive lineman this year.
If the Patriots set their sights on Johnson, it would be the second year in a row that Kraft would hire a first-team head coach. This would also indicate that the Patriots want to surround Drake Maye with an offensive-minded coach.
Here are three things to know about Johnson:
Johnson turned down several teams before
The Lions thought Johnson was long gone. In 2022, after his first year as offensive coordinator, Johnson turned down an opportunity to go to his hometown team and coach the Carolina Panthers. Last offseason, he became arguably the top prospect for several teams, including the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks.
according to The AthleticJohnson’s agent informed the commanders that he would be staying in Detroit while they were on a flight to meet him in Michigan.
“I like what we’ve built here, starting with the ownership, the head coach, the general manager, all the way down,” Johnson said via MLive. “We have a great group of guys in the locker room and I want to reap the rewards with them a little bit more.”
Johnson will be the offensive player
Wherever Johnson decides to go, it will be interesting to see what his coaching staff looks like. One thing we do know is that this brilliant offensive mind will be the one to score plays.
This is not unusual.
Other head coaches calling offensive plays include Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco), Sean McVay (Los Angeles), Andy Reid (Kansas City), Mike McDaniel (Miami), Matt LaFleur (Green Bay) and Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota) . . These coaches have others with the title of “offensive coordinator,” but have remained steadfast in their playmaking roles.
“I love to play” Johnson said. “So if I were to take a head coaching job, I’d want to be a head game coach.”
Johnson has multiple New England ties
Born in Charlestown, SC, Johnson grew up in North Carolina and went to college at UNC. His first coaching job took him to Massachusetts.
In 2009, Johnson was hired as a graduate assistant at Boston College under head coach Frank Spaziani. In 2011, he was promoted to tight ends coach for the Eagles. From 2012 to 2018, Johnson worked in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. He worked with three head coaches (Joe Philbin, Dan Campbell and Adam Gase) coaching the offensive line, tight ends and receivers.
Johnson’s other New England connection is former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. In 2019, he joined Patricia’s staff in Detroit as the Lions’ offensive quality control coach. Following Patricia’s firing, Campbell promoted Johnston to tight ends coach (2020), passing game coordinator (2021) and finally offensive coordinator (2022).
- BETTING: Check out our MA Sports Betting Guidewhere you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read the odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.