The Jacksonville Jaguars can begin holding in-person interviews for their head coaching vacancy as of Monday. Will Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson be on that list?
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Johnson is expected to lock in his interviewing schedule over the next few days. Russini adds that the Jaguars, Bears, and Raiders are the teams that have shown “strong interest” in Johnson.
However, “it’s possible,” said Russini, that Johnson won’t meet with all three teams as he’s still figuring out his next steps.
As the top head coaching candidate this hiring cycle, Johnson has quite a bit of leverage and will ultimately get to pick where he wants to go.
Recently, one senior NFL executive described why the Jaguars’ job should be appealing to Johnson, which includes having Trevor Lawrence at the quarterback position.
With that said, a known priority for Johnson is having alignment with the general manager. While the Raiders are interviewing Lance Newmark, who has a strong relationship with Johnson, for their GM opening, the Jaguars are holding onto Trent Baalke–although, one report suggests there is some “flexibility” when it comes to Baalke’s status.
For now, the waiting game continues, but with the Lions’ eliminated from the playoffs, the coaching carousel should begin to speed up in the coming days.
