ALLEN PARK — Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, loves to answer football questions. That had to wait on Thursday, the first chance the media had to delve into why he didn’t move on to take an NFL head coaching position in the offseason.
He was the NFL coaching candidate darling — or at least one of them — but instead chose ro return to Detroit for his sixth season, his third as coordinator.
It’s been a voyage and it started in the Arctic, well treacherous waters resembling it.
While on the plane, after the loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game in January, Johnson said he was thinking about something coach Dan Campbell had said about the team.
“So 2021, and early part of 2022 he had made this analogy to the team about how we were sailing down the ocean and at that moment we were in the Arctic, we were hitting the ice bergs, we had the storms going on. Those were dark days,’’ Johnson said on Thursday.
“He had the foresight, he had the vision of where we were going and where we were heading. He assured us. ‘Guys I see it, I see where we are going. The results haven’t been there yet but the Caribbean is on the horizon. It’s coming up,’’’ he continued.
Johnson, 38, said the story of his career has found him spending a lot of time living in the Arctic. It was the second time he’d been to the playoffs, the first time he’d experienced winning playoff games.
“When it boils down to it, I wanted the sunshine a little bit longer. That’s really what it comes down to. I like the sunshine, I like what we’ve built here starting with the ownership, the head coach, the GM, on down,’’ Johnson said. “We have a great group of guys in the locker room. I want to reap the rewards with them a little longer.”
When he had the opportunity to take the reins of his own team, he didn’t view it as a must at this time. He has no doubt he’s ready but he’s looking long-term. Of the eight head coaching openings this offseason he said there’s a good chance five of them are out of jobs in three years.
“When I look at it from that perspective, if I get the opportunity to go down that road, it’s about how do I get to that second contract? How do I set myself up so that the stars need to align? I’m not going to do it just to do it,’’ Johnson said.
“I love what I’m doing right now. Love it. I love where I’m at, my family loves where we’re at, love the people we’re doing it with and so I’m not willing to go down the other path yet unless I feel really good about how it’s going to unfold,’’ Johnson said.
Campbell said he wasn’t surprised that Johnson chose to stay in Detroit, but he wouldn’t have been shocked if he had left either.
“I think he feels like it’s a good opportunity here and he wants to make the most of it and if something else becomes available it needs to be right, everything needs to be right. I appreciate that about him, not everybody can do that,’’ Campbell said.
“I think it’s a little bit of living in the moment too. I mean I think he enjoys it here, the family enjoys it here with a group of guys he respects and loves to be around — coaches, players — it’s a good vibe right now. Why not live it to the fullest, then the next thing will be the next thing,’’ Campbell added.
Continuity with the coaching staff is key if the Lions are going to continue to find success and they have it with Johnson, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp.
“It’s important I put a lot of stock in that, there’s a lot of value. Without my coaches, without my coordinator, none of this thing works,’’ Campbell said on Thursday, prior to the start of the OTA session.
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