Who are likely candidates for NFL head coach jobs?
The Detroit Lions are unlikely to reach the playoffs. They don't feature a sexy passing game. They have been hapless for years, they don't have a high profile and they're hardly notorious for producing future head coaches.
They check almost none of the boxes one would expect in terms of employing a hot commodity in the 2023 head coaching cycle, and yet they feature a rising young offensive co-ordinator who is generating far more heat and recognition than anyone would have expected a few months ago. First-year co-ordinator Ben Johnson, 36, began opening eyes at the start of the season, deploying a multi-faceted and unique rushing attack that has helped the Lions be far more viable on offence than most would have predicted. Thanksgiving's stout performance against an elite Buffalo defence was in many ways his national coming-out party.
Perhaps you heard Tony Romo gushing about Johnson's gutsy play calls and intrinsic feel for putting his players in position to succeed. The CBS analyst was merely saying out loud what NFL decisions makers have been whispering since the summer. The more people study Johnson's approach and schematics, the more buzz grows that he has the makings of a head coach himself, quite possibly in 2023.
“It looks like what Mike Mcdaniel is doing in Miami,” longtime NFL broadcaster and analyst Brian Baldinger told me. “All the shifts and motions. I really like what he's doing with that offence.”
Johnson has found a way to roll up points with far more regularity than anticipated. He is getting the very best out of Jared Goff, a system quarterback who was basically a salary dump in the Matt Stafford trade with the Los Angeles Rams. He has helped use shifts and motion to boost an unheralded receiver group, and has kept reinventing a gap rushing scheme despite not having his most dynamic cog, D'andre Swift, close to full health for much of the season. Suffice it to say, Johnson is making a very strong impression.
NFL execs I've talked to are keeping a close eye on Arizona, Denver, Cleveland, Houston and Carolina as the teams with the highest probability of head coaching openings, with New Orleans also getting a few votes. Some are wondering if 71-year-old Pete Carroll would retire in Seattle, although they're betting against it given the way that franchise has surged this season.
There is a growing consensus about some other young coaches in the league who, like Johnson, are primed to get serious traction in this hiring cycle. And some wonder, with running the football and strong defence back in vogue this season, whether the trend of seeking so-called “quarterback gurus” will be bucked.
“The candidates on the defensive side (among those without prior head coaching experience) are better,” said one NFL general manager not at liberty to speak publicly.
San Francisco defensive co-ordinator Demeco Ryans has a legion of supporters and has impressed teams in past hiring cycles. Jonathan Gannon, Philadelphia's defensive co-ordinator, is expected to interview for multiple openings, and Bengals defensive co-ordinator Lou Anarumo is well positioned as well. In a cyclic league, the pendulum swinging back to the defensive side of the ball wouldn't surprise me.
In terms of former head coaches, there is little to no debate that Sean Payton will be the prize. His Super Bowl resumé and ability to build an offence and get the most out of players puts him on a different level than the rest of this class.
Some who know Payton well believe the Chargers would be a preference as he enjoys living in Southern California and has family there.