Report: Colts request to interview Lions’ Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn for head coach job

More NFL teams are poking around the Detroit Lions coaching staff for potential head coaching jobs in the 2023 carousel. After news first broke that the Houston Texans have requested to interview Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, another team has entered the picture.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Indianapolis Colts have requested to interview both of the Lions coordinators: Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

Johnson has been credited with revitalizing Jared Goff’s career while leading the fifth-highest-scoring offense in the league. Glenn is viewed as a fantastic leader largely due to his infectious personality and ability to connect to players as a former All-Pro cornerback himself. He also helped the Lions turn around their defense from one of the worst at the start of the 2022 season to a far more respectable unit down the stretch.

For Johnson, this would be his first round of head coaching interviews. Whereas with Glenn, he has gone through head coaching interviews in two previous years. Just last season, Glenn interviewed for both the Saints and Broncos head coaching gigs, though he obviously didn’t land either one.

On Monday, Lions coach Dan Campbell said he hadn’t heard of any head coach interviewing requests, but noted that Johnson has absolutely earned the opportunity.

“He would be worthy of that,” Campbell said. “I think a ton of Ben. I think he’s – I’ve said it before, I just think he’s extremely bright. He’s creative, he’s organized, he’s a great communicator. I mean he’s got it, and I would do anything I can to help him. That’s the bottom line. Of course, I don’t want to lose him, but I’m not going to hold him back either. I would help him any way I can help him.”

At this point, it’s unclear who the other candidates for the Colts' job are. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday will certainly get some consideration, but he did go 1-7 to finish the 2022 season.

Keep tuned into Pride of Detroit for the latest news on the Lions’ coaching situation. In the very near future, we’ll have a tracker to keep up to date on the most recent developments.

Update: Eagles OC Shane Steichen and Rams’ DC Raheem Morris are also in the mix per NFL reports.