Patriots request interview with leading first-time head coaching candidate
The New England Patriots have reportedly requested to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head coaching job.
Less than 24 hours after firing Jerod Mayo, the New England Patriots got their search for their next head coach underway. Their first interview request was reportedly made on Monday, to a name many Patriots fans may already be familiar with.
According to multiple reports, the Patriots have put in a request to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head coaching job. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero later reported that Johnson will take the interview this week, while the Detroit Lions are on a bye week after landing the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Patriots aren’t the only team pursuing Johnson. He will also reportedly interview with the Chicago Bears.
Johnson, 38, has been among the top head coaching candidates during the last two coaching cycles, but each time stayed in his current job with the Lions. He’s been with Detroit since joining the franchise in 2019 (when he was hired by former Patriots defensive coordinator and then-head coach Matt Patricia). Johnson started off as offensive quality control coach, before moving on to being the tight ends coach, and then passing game coordinator before taking the OC job in 2022.
Prior to his job in Detroit Johnson spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, where he coached quarterbacks (as an assistant), wide receivers (as an assistant) and tight ends. He was hired by Joe Philbin and also worked for Dan Campbell (who he now works under in Detroit) and Adam Gase.
The Lions and Dolphins are the only two NFL teams Johnson has worked for. He began coaching in 2009 as a graduate assistant at Boston College, where he was the tight ends coach for a year before jumping to the NFL.
Johnson has been one of the top offensive innovators in the NFL during his time as the Lions’ offensive coordinators. That should make pairing him with rookie quarterback Drake Maye an enticing option. At the same time the Patriots would be replacing one rookie head coach with another, and Johnson’s ability to establish a program and culture beyond the X’s and O’s would be the biggest unknown.
While Johnson is the first interview, don’t expect him to be alone. Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked on Monday about how big of a coaching search he plans on having. “We want to interview as many people as we can that we think can help us get to that position that we want to be in,” Kraft said.
