Lions' Ben Johnson: Commanders Coach Favorite?

Could new head of football operations Adam Peters hire Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be the coach of the Washington Commanders?

The Washington Commanders have tabbed former San Francisco 49ers executive Adam Peters to be their next general manager. Could Peters pick the hottest coordinator in the NFL to take over as coach of the Commanders? 

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At the very least, Johnson appears to be a distinct possibility in Washington. Within minutes of news breaking that Peters was headed to D.C., multiple NFL insiders quickly connected Johnson to the opening. That's probably not a coincidence. 

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media relayed that Johnson is "firmly in play" to be the next coach of the Commanders. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports said to "keep a close eye" on Johnson to be the successor to Ron Rivera. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN added "some league circles are watching a potential pairing" between Peters and Johnson. JP Finlay of NBC 4 opined that he believes the team's next move will be to hire Johnson. 

When four people in the know put out similar messages within 20 minutes of each other, that's not a case of great minds thinking alike. That's an organization trying to set expectations for what's about to come next. Granted, Johnson is likely going to have his pick of multiple jobs in this cycle. But you're beginning to get the sense that part of Peters' pitch to the Commanders was that Johnson would be coming with him. 

As offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, Johnson has helped to revive the career of quarterback Jared Goff, while also presiding over the development of a pair of star rookies this season in tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. You never know how someone will transition from coordinator to head coach until they do it, but for a team likely to select at quarterback in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Johnson would make sense. 

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The one caveat here is that the Lions are preparing for a playoff game Sunday evening against the Los Angeles Rams. Johnson won't be eligible to have a virtual meeting with the Commanders or any other interested teams until next Wednesday. The Commanders couldn't officially sign Johnson to be their coach until whenever Detroit's postseason run concludes.