Ben Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022 after spending three seasons with the Lions in multiple roles on the coaching staff. He came to Detroit in 2019, as an offensive quality control coach, and was heavily involved in the passing game during Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell's first season in Detroit.
"I think Ben's a rock star, man," Campbell said. "He's a young guy, but he's kind of gone a little longer, harder road to get to where he's at. He's been around some really good coaches, now, some guys who have coached some pretty good quarterbacks. Just being around Mike Sherman when I was with him down there (in Miami). Joe Philbin, who was with (Aaron) Rodgers. Then he's with (Adam) Gase, who had (Peyton) Manning and those guys. So he understands quarterback play well. He was with Zac Taylor, who was with me in Miami. We were all together there in Miami. So, he understands it well."
Johnson most recently was a part of a Lions coaching staff in 2023 that helped the club to a 12-5 record, tying the single-season franchise record for wins in a season. The 2023 coaching staff was the club's third coaching staff in team history to win multiple playoff games, and the first coaching staff to do so since 1957. Johnson's offensive leadership was also key to helping Detroit clinch their first Division Championship since 1993 and advance to their first NFC Championship since 1991.
In 2023, Johnson guided the offense to rank near the top of the NFL in several major categories, finishing the season second in passing offense, third in total offense and fifth in both rushing offense and points per game. The club's lethal offensive production was an integral part of Johnson being named a finalist for AP Assistant Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season in 2023.
Headlined by an array of offensive weapons, Detroit's 2023 offense had an impressive blend of highly productive veterans and rookies. Out of the team's seven Pro Bowl selections, five were named from the offense, including two rookies in RB Jahmyr Gibbs and TE Sam LaPorta. In Johnson's offense, LaPorta became only the second Lions tight end in team history to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie. C Frank Ragnow, T Penei Sewell and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown also made the Pro Bowl following stellar offensive performances in 2023.
The effective usage of Gibbs and LaPorta in the offense helped the Lions establish one of the best 2023 draft classes across the NFL. The rookie class combined for 22 touchdowns, the most by a rookie class since the franchise moved to Detroit in 1934. Gibbs (11) and LaPorta (10) became the NFL's first set of rookie teammates to each produce 10 touchdowns in a season. Gibbs' 11 touchdowns tied for the third-most in a season by a Lions rookie while LaPorta's 10 tied for the fifth-most. Under Johnson's coaching, the Lions became the first team since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to produce a combined 10 rushing touchdowns and 10 receiving touchdowns from a rookie class. The outstanding debut seasons for both Gibbs and LaPorta helped them be named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year finalists.
Johnson's offense in 2023 gained a reputation across the NFL for consistently producing. Detroit tied two single-season NFL records for the most games with a rushing touchdown (16) and the most games with at least one passing and rushing touchdown (16). The club also tied three other teams with the most (14) games with at least 20 points scored. With nine games of at least 30 points, the offense was tied for second in the NFL, while also setting a new franchise record for the most 30-point games.
Goff continues to play the best football of his career in tandem with Johnson's coaching. Goff finished 2023 with the second-most passing yards (4,575) in the NFL, while tying for the third-most 300-yard passing games. Goff was also fourth in the NFL in touchdowns and first in passing first downs. Dating back to the 2022 season, Goff went into the 2023 season with a historic streak of passes without an interception. He finished the 2023 NFL season with the third-longest streak of consecutive passes (383) without an interception in NFL history.
St. Brown has emerged as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL under Johnson's coaching. In 2023, St. Brown had the most 100-yard receiving games with nine, and the most yards after the catch with 677.
The offseason acquisitions of RB David Montgomery and Gibbs helped the Lions continue to be able to effectively run the football at will in Johnson's offense. Montgomery and Gibbs became the first set of teammates in NFL history to produce at least 1,000 scrimmage yards and 10 rushing touchdowns for a team in the same season.
Detroit had 14 games with 100 or more rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in 2023. This tied for the second-most games with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown in the NFL and tied for the single-season franchise record (first set in 1981). Montgomery also recorded a career-best 13 rushing touchdowns in his first season in Detroit, along with a career-high 4.6 yards per carry on the season. While establishing the run week in and week out, Johnson was able to continue to lead a balanced and explosive offense, ranking second in the NFL with 85 plays of 20 or more yards, ranking third with 70 passes of 20-plus yards, and ranking fourth with 15 rushes of 20-or-more yards.
Detroit's offensive production under Johnson in 2022 ranks among some of the best numbers the club has ever registered in a single season as a franchise. The group played a pivotal role in turning the team's record around, winning eight of the last 10 games of the season. The 2022 season marked the first time in franchise history that Detroit accumulated 4,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in the same season. It also served as the second-best franchise performance in terms of total net yards, total touchdowns scored, points scored and first downs gained. Additionally, in Johnson's first season leading the offense, Detroit recorded its third-most yards per play average in a season and tied for the least number of turnovers the franchise has had in a single season.
Detroit's offense also ranked near the top of the NFL in several major categories, finishing the 2022 season ranked fifth in points per game, fourth in total offense, fourth in red zone efficiency and first in giveaways. The Lions scored 30 or more points in eight games in 2022, tied for the most in the NFL, while establishing a new franchise record for the most 30-point games in a single season. With Johnson's assistance, four players were named to the Pro Bowl including Ragnow, Sewell, St. Brown, and Goff. It marked the first time Detroit had four offensive players in the Pro Bowl since 1971.
Goff was able to experience considerable success within the offense. He was amongst the top QBs in the NFL as Detroit rallied to win eight of the final 10 games while taking exceptional care of the football. Since Week 10 of the 2022 season, Goff was the only NFL quarterback to attempt at least 100 passes and not throw an interception. The streak marked the first time in Goff's career that he went nine-straight starts without an interception. Goff concluded the 2022 season having attempted 324 consecutive passes without an interception, which ranks as the fifth-longest streak in NFL history. Goff also established new franchise records in 2022 in TD/INT ratio (4.14) and interception rate (1.2%) while tying for the best passer rating in team history (99.3).
Under Johnson's guidance, former Lions RB Jamaal Williams reached career milestones within Detroit's offense. The Lions running backs led the NFL in rushing touchdowns among a team's running backs corps in 2022. In the process, Williams set a new franchise single-season record with 17 rushing touchdowns in 2022. The team also ran for 100 or more yards in 13 games in Johnson's first season calling plays. It marked the most games with at least 100 rushing yards since producing 14 games with 100-plus yards in 1997.
In 2020, Johnson helped guide second-year TE T.J. Hockenson to his first-career Pro Bowl after posting 67 receptions for 723 yards (10.8 avg.) and six touchdowns. Hockenson became just the fifth tight end in franchise history to earn Pro Bowl honors and the first since 1999. Among all NFL tight ends, Hockenson ranked in the top five in receiving yards (third), receiving 1st downs (third), and receptions (fourth).
Before joining Detroit, he was promoted to the Dolphins wide receivers coach in 2018 where he helped WR Albert Wilson average the second-most yards after catch (12.9) in the NFL and the fifth-highest yards per target (11.2).
In 2017, Johnson helped WR Jarvis Landry catch a Dolphins franchise record and an NFL-high 112 receptions. Landry also earned Pro Bowl recognition for the third consecutive season and caught a career-high nine touchdown passes.
In Johnson's first season as assistant wide receivers coach in 2016, he helped the Dolphins win 10 games and earn their first playoff berth since 2008. Johnson coached Landry to 94 receptions for 1,136 yards (12.1 avg.) and four touchdowns, earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection. Landry's 94 receptions were fourth in single-season Dolphins history and his 1,136 receiving yards were eighth.
From 2013-15 Johnson served as the team's assistant quarterbacks coach and in 2015 was promoted to the tight ends coach during the season. In 2014, Johnson helped QB Ryan Tannehill finish with 4,045 passing yards, joining QB Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks in Dolphins history to surpass 4,000 yards in a season. Tannehill passed for 4,208 passing yards in 2015 and steadily improved his passing yardage in all four of his NFL seasons with Johnson coaching his position.
In 2012, Johnson started with the Dolphins as an offensive assistant coach and helped an offense that finished fourth in the AFC in rushing touchdowns (15).
Johnson joined the Miami Dolphins after spending three years (2009-11) at Boston College. He spent his final season as tight ends coach after spending his first two seasons as a graduate assistant.
Johnson played four seasons as a quarterback at North Carolina and graduated in 2008 with a B.S. in mathematics and a B.S. in computer science. Together, Johnson and his wife, Jessica, have three children – their first child, Emory, a son, Kennedy, and his youngest daughter, Halle.
