Benjamin David Johnson (born May 11, 1986) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). His NFL coaching career began as an assistant with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in 2012, coaching quarterbacks, tight ends, and wide receivers. Johnson later joined the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in 2019, rising to

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

in 2022 and leading the team to a top-five offense in every season, including the top-ranked during the 2024 season.

Early life and college

Johnson was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

on May 11, 1986. His father, Don Johnson, was a high school principal who coached at

Idaho State University Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations ...

and

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

, and his mother Gail Johnson, was a middle school teacher. He attended and played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

A. C. Reynolds High School A. C. Reynolds High School is a public secondary school located in Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Sw ...

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, 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. He graduated in the top five of his high school class. Johnson was a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album) or the title song, 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album) or the title song, 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album) or the title song, 1992 *''Walk On'', by Kellie Coffey, 200 ...

for the

Tar Heels Tar Heel (or Tarheel) is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina and its people. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace ba ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 2004, where he competed as a reserve quarterback behind

T. J. Yates Taylor Jonathan Yates (born May 28, 1987) is an American football coach and former player who is the passing game coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played professionally as a quarterback in the NFL. Af ...

before graduating in 2008 with degrees in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. After college graduation, Johnson spent a year not in football, working instead as a software developer in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

for the company eTeleNext.

Coaching

Boston College

Inspired to get into coaching by his offensive coordinator at UNC,

John Shoop John Shoop (born August 1, 1969) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current head coach of the Nordic Storm in the European League of Football (ELF). He played college football at Sewanee. He has coached in the Nat ...

, Johnson was hired as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

in 2009. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2011.

Miami Dolphins

Johnson was hired as an offensive assistant for the

in February 2012. He was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2013 and was promoted to tight ends coach in 2015 under interim coach

Dan Campbell Daniel Allen Campbell (born April 13, 1976) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 11 seasons. Campb ...

after head coach

Joe Philbin Joseph Anthony Philbin (born July 2, 1961) is an American offensive line coach for the Las Vegas Raiders. He served as the offensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach of the Miami Dolp ...

was fired following a 1–3 start. Johnson was retained by

Adam Gase Adam Joseph Gase (born March 29, 1978) is an American football coach. He came to prominence in the National Football League (NFL) as the offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2013 to 2014, whose offense set the NFL record for points ...

and named assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 and was promoted to wide receivers coach the following season.

Detroit Lions

Johnson was hired as an offensive quality control coach for the

in 2019. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2020 and was retained after

was named head coach in 2021, following the firing of

Matt Patricia Matthew Edward Patricia (born September 13, 1974) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He previously served 15 non-consecutive seasons as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots of the National ...

. The same season, he would be promoted to pass game coordinator after

Anthony Lynn Anthony Ray Lynn (born December 21, 1968) is an American professional football coach and former running back who is the run game coordinator and running backs coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played ...

was stripped of play-calling duties following an 0–8 start. Johnson was promoted again to

in February 2022, 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. He remained in Detroit for the 2023 season, despite being heavily pursued by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, in which the team finished third in total offense, won the division for the first time since 1993, and defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24–23 in the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

to win a playoff game for the first time since 1991. The Lions would later defeat the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the Divisional Round to advance to the 2023 NFC Championship Game, but ultimately lose to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. In both the NFC Divisional Round against the Buccaneers 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 The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. 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 scoring at least 40 points, and become the first 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

. After the regular season, Johnson interviewed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

, and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

for their vacant head coach positions.

Chicago Bears

On January 21, 2025, Johnson was hired as the head coach of the

Head coaching record

Coaching philosophy

Johnson cited his offensive scheme as being influenced by Kevin Rogers,

Darrell Bevell Darrell Wayne Bevell (born January 6, 1970) is an American football coach who is the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as offensive coordinator for ...

, Clyde Christensen,

Mike Martz Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American American football, football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the History of the St. Louis Rams, St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coor ...

, and former Bears offensive coordinator

Personal life

Johnson is married to his high school sweetheart Jessica, with whom he has three children.

References

External links

Chicago Bears profile

UNC Tar Heels profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ben 1986 births Living people American football quarterbacks Boston College Eagles football coaches Coaches of American football from North Carolina Detroit Lions coaches Chicago Bears head coaches Miami Dolphins coaches NFL offensive coordinators North Carolina Tar Heels football players Players of American football from Asheville, North Carolina Players of American football from Charleston, South Carolina