When this season ended, Dan Campbell figured both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn were gone. He said this was "the second year in a row that I didn’t think I was going to be able to have them back." Despite being candidates for head coaching jobs, Johnson and Glenn will stay with the Lions as Campbell's top two coordinators.
"It’s very meaningful, the continuity of the staff," Campbell said Tuesday at the NFL combine. "The core of the staff is no different than the core of the players that’s been together now since 2021, and to me that’s very important."
Johnson seemed like a sure departure after coordinating a top-five offense for the second straight season. He was viewed as the leading candidate for the Panthers job last offseason before choosing to stay in Detroit to chase the Super Bowl with Campbell, then made the same decision this year while being pursued by the Commanders. Johnson told Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown that he has "unfinished business" with the Lions and that "my heart is in Detroit."
"When Ben is focused on this, he’s focused on this and nothing is going to move that for him," Campbell said. "Once this item is done, he can close it and then he’ll move onto the next one. I don’t know the whole interview process, but I know this: his whole focus was on helping us win (in the playoffs) and it wasn’t about preparing for interviews. I guess you just never know how they’re going to play out."
Johnson helped the Lions reach the NFC title game, where they lost by a field goal to the 49ers in a game in which the offense only scored seven points in the second half. Campbell added that Johnson, 37, is "more than capable of being a head coach and by the way people have hired in this league before, he’s more than qualified."
"But here’s what I love about Ben: Ben’s not going to do anything that he doesn’t want to do or that he doesn’t feel like he’s ready for," Campbell said. "So I’m glad we got him back. He’s one of us."
With the core of the coaching staff intact, Campbell said the Lions are "so much further along with what you do" and will be able to hit the ground running on both sides of the ball next season.
"For example, Ben knows exactly what I’m thinking," said Campbell. "We’re to the point now where he knows exactly what I want, how I think, just like I know how he thinks, and AG and (Dave) Fipp. So there’s so many things that you can skip over, these steps that have already been done, and you’re just so much more efficient, so much better.
"And it happens with the players, too. They know what we expect, so now you’re out of 101 and into 401. That’s the beauty of the continuity of the staff."