The biggest question so far this offseason for the Detroit Lions has been, “Will Ben Johnson return to be the OC or take a head coaching job?” Luckily for the Lions, that question got answered pretty quickly. Ben is returning to the Lions next season and his players could not be more happy.
Detroit Lions Reporter Dannie Rogers caught up with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jared Goff and Frank Ragnow to get their reactions when they heard the wonder coach is back.
Amon-Ra St. Brown on Ben Johnson
“I almost shed a tear. I was super happy, I thought he was for sure gone.” Detroit Lions WR St. Brown commented, “He told me on the last day of exit meetings, He said “I’m gunna give you a call”…… (I) go home, No call…… and then, I don’t know what it was, a week and half later I find out he’s staying. I gave him a call. We talked, it was awesome.”
Jared Goff on the return of the OC
“Yeah, I was fired up. He’s obviously been extremely important to our offenses success, my success.” Goff said, “I think more than anything, not having to learn a new playbook again for the 2nd year in a row would be nice. But having him back, he’s as important to us as anybody. I hope we can continue what we were doing last year.”
Frank Ragnow shared his thoughts
“Yeah I cant say enough about the guy. Just like Jared (Goff) I was pretty stoked. I facetime Jared and we exchanged gifs. I don’t know what it was, we were just excited.”
I knew MY reaction when I heard Ben Johnson was coming back to the @Lions as offensive coordinator after multiple head coaching interviews. . . I was sooo curious to hear how his own players reacted ➡️ pic.twitter.com/F4kCle35OH
— Dannie (@dannierogers___) February 15, 2023
Needless to say Ben Johnson returning helps the Lions in more ways than one. It also shows that the culture being built inside Allen Park and Ford Field is one where talented people want to stay and thrive.
Photo: © Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK