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Ben Johnson (American football coach)
Benjamin David Johnson (born May 11, 1986) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). His NFL coaching career began as an assistant with the Miami Dolphins in 2012, coaching quarterbacks, tight ends, and wide receivers. Johnson later joined the Detroit Lions in 2019, rising to offensive coordinator in 2022 and leading the team to a top-five offense in every season, including having the #1 ranked offense during the 2024 NFL season. He was previously a walk-on quarterback at North Carolina in the mid-2000s. Early life and collegeJohnson was born on May 11, 1986, in Charleston, South Carolina, and is the son of Don Johnson, a high school principal who coached at Idaho State University and the Citadel, and Gail Johnson, who was a middle school teacher.[1][2][3] He attended and played quarterback at A. C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, North Carolina, where he helped lead the team to a North Carolina 4-A state championship as a junior and was named conference player of the year as a senior.[3][4] He graduated in the top five of his high school class.[3] Johnson was a walk-on for the Tar Heels at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004, where he competed as a reserve quarterback behind T. J. Yates before graduating in 2008 with degrees in mathematics and computer science.[3][5] After college graduation, Johnson spent a year not in football, working instead as a software developer in Durham, North Carolina for the company eTeleNext.[6][7] CoachingBoston CollegeInspired to get into coaching by his offensive coordinator at UNC, John Shoop, Johnson was hired as a graduate assistant for the Boston College Eagles in 2009.[8] He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2011. Miami DolphinsJohnson was hired as an offensive assistant for the Miami Dolphins in February 2012.[9] He was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2013 and was promoted to tight ends coach in 2015 under interim coach Dan Campbell after head coach Joe Philbin was fired following a 1–3 start.[10] Johnson was retained by Adam Gase and named assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 and was promoted to wide receivers coach the following season.[11] Detroit LionsJohnson was hired as an offensive quality control coach for the Detroit Lions in 2019. [12] He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2020 and was retained after Dan Campbell was named head coach in 2021, following the firing of Matt Patricia.[13][14] The same season, he would be promoted to pass game coordinator after Anthony Lynn was stripped of play-calling duties following an 0–8 start.[8] Johnson was promoted again to offensive coordinator in February 2022,[15] receiving head coaching interest by the end of the season after leading the Lions to a top five offense with eight games over 30 points, a single-season franchise record.[5] He remained in Detroit for the 2023 season, despite being heavily pursued by the Carolina Panthers,[16] in which the team finished third in total offense, won the division for the first time since 1993, and won a playoff game for the first time since 1991.[17] The Lions would later defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to advance to the 2023 NFC Championship Game, but ultimately lose to the San Francisco 49ers. In both the NFC Divisional Round against the Bucs and the NFC Championship against the 49ers, Johnson's offense put up over thirty points and over 100 rushing yards. On January 30, 2024, Johnson announced he would be returning to the Lions despite being considered a prime head coaching candidate for both the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks.[18] During the 2024 season, Johnson called the league's top ranked offense (33.2 ppg) and set multiple records, including most 40 point games without any turnovers, (5) and achieving the highest PPG in franchise history. The Lions had six games of 40+ points, and become the 2nd team in NFL history to produce four different players with 1,000 scrimmage yards, and the first to do it with two wide receivers and two running backs. The Lions secured the top seed and a bye week in the playoffs, but lost in NFC Divisional Round to the Washington Commanders. After the regular season, Johnson interviewed with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, and New England Patriots for their vacant head coach positions.[19] Chicago BearsOn January 21, 2025, Johnson was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears.[20] Head coaching record
Coaching philosophyJohnson cited his offensive scheme as being influenced by Kevin Rogers, Darrell Bevell, Adam Gase, Clyde Christensen, and Mike Martz.[8] Personal lifeJohnson is married to his high school sweetheart Jessica, with whom he has three children.[21] References
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