Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions‘ offensive coordinator, looks like a future coaching star. Just about every disgruntled NFL fan base knows who he is.
Some Tampa Bay fans, for example, already are pining for the fast-rising play-caller to join forces with Tom Brady and straighten out the Bucs’ kinked-up offense this offseason. If not the Bucs, then maybe somewhere else.
His departure isn’t a foregone conclusion, but he’ll be one of the hottest names in line for a promotion later this winter. What does this mean for the Lions’ suddenly surging rebuild under head coach Dan Campbell?
That depends on Campbell. It also depends on Jared Goff.
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The Lions quarterback is playing the best football of his career, and Johnson is a big reason. The two understand each other, lean on each other and have gotten the best out of each other. No player would feel Johnson’s absence more than Goff.
The offense would feel his loss, too. Not just his play design, but the rhythm of his playcalling during a game.
There’s also Johnson’s vibe in the locker room and meeting rooms — and his presence within team headquarters in general. This is no small thing, either.
And yet, the best head coaches in the NFL survive losing offensive and defensive coordinators. They have no choice.
Bill Belichick is the most prominent example of a head coach who has maintained his own culture while working with numerous coordinators during his time in New England. The ability to adapt to new coordinators yet keep the essence of a program intact is what separates out the very best coaches.
Two of Campbell’s mentors are also good examples of this: Bill Parcels and Sean Payton. Each has a personality and idea about how to lead a franchise that supersedes the strategies that coordinators bring with them.
This isn’t to dismiss the work of coordinators. Their work is crucial. Everly good — or great — coach needs them.
But as Johnson considers a potential chance to be a head coach this offseason, I’d urge you to consider these words from Campbell last winter when asked if he planned on calling plays this season:
“I feel like this is something that I do believe I can do and be good at.”
Now, some context: Campbell took over play calling duties midway through last season. The team got better offensively, and Goff began to look more comfortable.
Part of the improvement was Johnson’s input in the passing game. When Campbell took play-calling responsibilities from then-OC Anthony Lynn, he asked Johnson to take over the passing game. That the passing game got better soon after isn’t a coincidence, either.
Still, Campbell showed he could run the offense during a game. His team got better. They won three games down the stretch. And when the season was over and he had to decide whether he would continue calling plays, he seriously considered it.
Would he do it again if Johnson were to leave?
Again, here is what he said when he had to think about it last January:
“Look, there was a transitional period there. It took a minute to try to get it all in, cause, unfortunately when you take that on … something is going to suffer until you figure (it) out.”
That dilemma isn’t going away. Finding the balance can be done, though.
Payton, whom he worked for in New Orleans, called his own plays and won a Super Bowl doing it. So did Sean McVay, who has called his own plays for years in Los Angeles.
Matt LaFleur, the head coach for the Green Bay Packers, calls his own plays. He guided the Packers to the NFC title game.
The arrangement isn’t without its struggles. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been happy with some of LaFleur’s calls this season, and when a star quarterback is upset, the weight of discontentment can hit harder when it’s directed at the head coach. And if Campbell were to take over play-calling duties next season, it could potentially change his relationship with Goff.
Yet the history of the league shows it’s possible for head coaches to fill that role and succeed at the highest level. It’s not so much about the inherent issues of the arrangement as it is about the coach’s feel for calling plays.
He can either do it, or he can’t.
Campbell showed he is capable. He thinks he might eventually be more than capable. At this point, if he thinks he can, then he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
If nothing else, Campbell holds this as an option if he loses Johnson. And remembering that if he were to take over the play-calling, it’s a good bet the offense won’t change much.
That may be the most important note moving forward, especially for Goff, who is thriving in the system that Johnson — and Campbell — have put together this season.
Campbell still has plenty to prove as a head coach. If the Lions win their next three games and find a way to the playoffs, that accomplishment will check a box off his prove-it list.
And if Johnson leaves because of the success of that helped the playoff run? Campbell will have to prove he is the kind of coach that can succeed even as coordinators change.
It’s part of life in the NFL. Just not part of NFL life any Lions head coach has had to worry about in a while.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.