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Lions’ Ben Johnson to Interview With Two Teams for HC Job During Playoff Bye Week

Kristen Wong

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Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has some free time in his schedule after the Lions clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC on Sunday night, and he’ll be taking at least a few head coach interviews before his team continues its quest for the Super Bowl.

Johnson is set to interview for the New England Patriots’ and Chicago Bears’ head coaching vacancies this week during the Lions’ playoff bye, NFL’s Tom Pelissero reported Monday afternoon.

“I am told Ben Johnson does intend to interview with both the Patriots and the Bears for their head coaching positions this week. He is interested in those jobs, he has been intrigued by the Bears’ job for some time, and now that the Patriots’ job with Drake Maye at quarterback has become available, that is certainly a possibility to monitor,” Pelissero said on NFL Network. 

The Patriots just fired Jerod Mayo after one season at the helm while the Bears parted ways with Matt Eberflus earlier this year.

Johnson’s intention to interview with these two NFL teams is worth noting given his reportedly different approach ahead of the new hiring cycle. 

The highly sought-after coach will not chase interviews and any interview he takes will be with the intention of actually pursuing the job, SI’s Albert Breer said last month.

Breer also named the key criteria Johnson will be looking for in a new team: “Number one, he’ll be looking for organizational alignment in particular between the GM and head coach, and then he’ll be looking for recognition from the organization on the things that have gone wrong and a willingness to fix them.”

Johnson, 38, has served as the Lions offensive coordinator since the 2022 season. He has worked under a variety of different head coaches during his 13 years in the league, including Adam Gase from their brief shared stint on the Miami Dolphins and Matt Patricia from the pre-Dan Campbell era in Detroit.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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