Popular Coaching Candidate Reportedly Has ‘Genuine’ Interest In Patriots

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is once again one of the hottest names on the coaching market this offseason.

Johnson received interest from several teams already and reportedly has interviews in place with the New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. And even though Johnson isn’t the front-runner for the Patriots gig — that label belongs to Mike Vrabel — it appears he isn’t just going through the motions with New England, either.

“Continuing to dig into Ben Johnson. His interest in New England is genuine, evident by his scheduled virtual interview with the team (he told the Jets not to bother, for instance),” Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Girardi wrote. “He has coached several positions on his coaching journey, from quarterbacks to receivers to tight ends, so he has a good sense for differing personalities.”

The Patriots, who reportedly have an interview scheduled with Johnson on Friday morning, might be wary about hiring a first-time head coach again after the experience they just went through with Jerod Mayo.

But Johnson could quell some of that apprehension since his pedigree is much different than Mayo. He spent the last three seasons as the Lions offensive coordinator — Mayo never graduated to being a defensive coordinator — and as Girardi noted, Johnson coached several other positions as he worked his way up with the Miami Dolphins and Lions.

And if the Patriots take that all into account, it might have them thinking a little bit more about just handing the keys over to Vrabel.

“Dan (Campbell) oversees everything in that building, but Ben runs that offense from top to bottom,” a source told Girardi. “You never truly know if a coach can make the leap from coordinator to head coach, but he’s got as good a chance as any.”