Ben Johnson's 'Sharp' Football Mind Uses Analytics to Get Ahead

Read more on what Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had to say this week about new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

New Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was almost a member of the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals' coaching staff.

Bengals head man Zac Taylor, who told reporters earlier this week from the site of Super Bowl LVI that Johnson is "one of the sharpest football coaches in this league," first got to know Johnson during a stint together on the Miami Dolphins' coaching staff from 2012-15.

During this time, Johnson, in what was his first NFL coaching job, served as an offensive assistant, followed by assistant quarterbacks coach and then tight ends coach. Johnson stayed on with the Dolphins until joining ex-Lions head coach Matt Patricia's staff as an offensive quality control coach in 2019.

Meanwhile, Taylor, in what was also his first NFL assistant job, served as assistant quarterbacks coach, followed by quarterbacks coach and then simultaneously QBs coach and offensive coordinator for his final season in Miami (2015). He took the same position in Cincinnati the following year, before moving on to Sean McVay's coaching staff in Los Angeles for two seasons. 

Taylor has been patrolling the sidelines as Cincinnati's head coach since 2019. 

The Bengals sideline boss has been impressed with Johnson's football IQ ever since the four years they spent together in Miami. 

He, in fact, has tried "many, many, many times" over the years to recruit Johnson to Cincinnati for a job on his coaching staff. The timing has continuously been off, though, as Johnson has continued to get promoted to bigger and better roles in Detroit, including most recently to the role of offensive coordinator on Dan Campbell's staff.

Kareem Elgazzar, The Enquirer, USA TODAY NETWORK

"Dan knows that," Taylor said, in reference to Campbell knowing of his numerous attempts to steal Johnson away from Detroit. "Always just trying to find a place for him on staff, whether it’s on defense, special teams. It doesn’t matter, just he’s one of those guys you want on your staff cause he’s a brilliant — I can’t even say young anymore, he’s not that young anymore. But, back when we worked together, we were both pretty young. He’s outstanding. He’s a guy that he’s just really sharp."

Lions players saw Johnson's "sharp" mind on display all throughout the 2021 campaign, especially after the then-tight ends coach became Detroit's de facto pass game coordinator. This became the case after Campbell took over as the team's offensive play-caller in Week 10. 

Johnson's role subsequently substantially grew, and he started to help Campbell design plays in the weeks leading up to games. 

This impressed rookie wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and many of his Lions teammates.

"His attention to detail when he was installing these plays in the red zone," St. Brown said really stood out, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press last month. “He presents really well. He’s super confident up there. He knows what he’s talking about. You can just hear it in his voice. So, I just remember him going up there, I think it was early in the year, installing red-zone plays, and right from then on, I knew he was a smart, special dude.” 

St. Brown, who caught 63 of his Detroit rookie record 90 passes while Johnson had a hand in designing the weekly offensive gameplan, credits the analytically savvy coach with a lot of his success late in the season. 

St. Brown continued to the Free Press, "He’s open to all new ideas. So, as a player, we love that. The quarterbacks love him. I think all the receivers, we all love him. So, if he does get the job, I’m going to be super excited, because without him, I don’t think I would have had the numbers that I had toward the end of the year. I love Coach Ben.”

If you take anything away from what Taylor had to say about Johnson, the Lions are lucky to have him calling plays this upcoming season.

"He’s got a mathematics background. He’s much smarter than I was in school," Taylor added. "He sees things differently. He does a great job with the analytics side of things, as well. He’s just one of the really, truthfully, one of the sharpest football coaches in this league, and he’s only going to continue to learn from his experiences. I think Dan knows that, and that’s probably why he promoted him, because he knows he’s got one of the best young coaches in the league right there on his staff. Why not promote him and help him call his offense?"