Whether they know it or not, Dan Campbell is constantly grooming Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Almost every week, the Lions' top assistant coaches attend game management meetings with Campbell where they review situational plays from around the NFL and discuss how they would approach each scenario themselves. Johnson calls them "spitball" sessions.
"Hey, what would we do if we were in this two-minute drill with this situation? AG, what would you be thinking with your call? Ben, what would you be thinking with your call? There’s a lot of banter back and forth, and I think that’s really how you grow as a coach," Johnson said. "You get put in those type of spots that if you’re not challenging yourself and asking yourself those tough questions, you wouldn’t normally get to.”
Johnson, 38, is the hottest offensive coordinator in the NFL. Glenn, 52, is one of the hottest defensive coordinators. Both of them will draw another round of head coaching interviews this offseason, and will likely be offered jobs. Lions assistant head coach/running backs coach Scottie Montgomery attends the review sessions with Campbell as well.
Asked why it's important to include Johnson and Glenn in those meetings, Campbell said Friday, "Well, number one, because those guys are going to be head coaches eventually, whether it’s now, whether it’s later, whatever the case is, so it’s good for them to see it."
"It’s also good for them to see the other side of it, to be able to see managing a game from a defensive perspective, to see it from an offensive perspective. You do that, and you figure out what’s right for you," he said. "They (already) know what’s right for us, because it’s the way I see it. Eventually, when it becomes their team, they may see it a little differently. There may be a more conservative approach, there may be a more aggressive approach. You just want to know that you have all the facts and that you’re able to put them into your own way of seeing it to make the best decision possible. It’s been good for us.”
Johnson turned down the Commanders' head coaching job last year, and said no to the Panthers the year before that. He's comfortable in Detroit and will be highly selective when the phone starts ringing again this offseason. Glenn hasn't advanced quite as far as a head coaching candidate, but has landed several interviews during his time with the Lions. He continues to elevate his stock this season by coaching a defense that's thriving without some of its best players, including Aidan Hutchinson.
Asked this week how he's grown as a coordinator since he stepped into the job three years ago when he came with Campbell from New Orleans, Glenn said, "Being able to understand offensive coordinators has helped me a ton."
"I spent a lot of time throughout the years, since 2021, going to visit offensive coordinators and just talking to them on how they see the game and how they prepare for a game, and that has opened my eyes on how I should prepare for a game," he said. "I’m always eager to learn. There’s a number of college coaches that I’ve visited from a defensive perspective, just to understand their thought process of the game. There are some concepts they have that I would never use, but it’s good to sit there and listen to them and get the why behind why they use them because at some point, hell, I might use it.
"There’s a lot of information that I’ve gathered throughout the years to help me be not just a better defensive coordinator, but a better coach, and that can be understanding the offense, special teams, across the board.”
The Lions are one of four teams in the NFL this year that ranks in the top 10 in both scoring offense (No. 2) and scoring defense (No. 8). Whether they complete their Super Bowl mission could play a role in whether Johnson and Glenn stay or leave. Given the knowledge that both of them could soon be gone, "I savor every bit of this," Campbell said.
"You don’t know what’s going to happen the next day or the next game in front of you, but I know this: this is a special team and it’s a special staff, and it’s been that way since the beginning," Campbell said. "I’m fortunate, I’m blessed, I’m thankful that I have the coordinators, counting special teams coordinator Dave Fipp as well. All three of those guys are superstars. And yeah, I do (savor it).
"And I know, hey, when it’s over, it’s over. But we’re going to make the most of it until that time comes.”