Ben Johnson Not Micro-Managing Lions Offensive Unit

Ben Johnson is more comfortable delegating in second season.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has gained added comfort the Detroit Lions' coaching staff and members of the roster are all working on the same page. 

Heading into his second campaign running the offense, the talented play-caller is dialing back the need to "micro-manage" the offensive operations.  

"If there is one thing I’d say from me a year ago, I micro-manage maybe a little too much, just for the sake of making sure that we were all on the same page of what the vision was," Johnson told reporters prior to practice this week. "And now that we have been together for a year, and we do have a couple new coaches, I have a lot more trust in these -- they already know. They know the language. They know the vernacular, so there have been more individual meetings as opposed to offensive meetings, because these guys know what the expectation is, and they are running with it." 

After a very successful season running the offense, Johnson decided against taking one of the vacant head coaching positions, opting instead to continue to work with head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions for one more season. 

With added comfort comes the willingness to delegate responsibilities and not holding as many group offensive meetings, allowing the position coaches to meet with the roster to deliver the intended messages. 

"I have a huge comfort level with the coaching staff around me. So, that has probably been the biggest change from year one and year two, just in terms of the second-floor operation.”