The Detroit Lions could have lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the coaching carousel this offseason or last. Instead, he chose to stick around, keeping a crucial component of their ascent into a winning team.

There was plenty of outside interest for Johnson, who has helped the Lions become a high-scoring offense over his two seasons as the offensive coordinator. He spent the last two springs interviewing with numerous teams that were looking for a new head coach. He passed on those chances, sticking in the role that propelled him up the ranks of candidates.

Johnson is still looking for a new contract but is still enjoying where he’s at right now. “I'm not willing to go down the other path yet unless I feel really good about how it's gonna unfold,” Johnson said, according to Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. This will be Johnson's fifth season with Detroit after spending two as a coach for tight ends.

Although Johnson wasn’t immediately one of Dan Campbell's top assistants, he has been here since the season when the Lions started out 0-8 and looked hopeless. The massive turnaround has already made a ton of progress but there is still more to achieve than just an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.

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Lions becoming playoff contender under Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson 

The NFC is the weaker of the two conferences but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t legitimate teams that can compete for the Super Bowl. The Lions are in that group, though perhaps behind the line of other teams.

The key for the Lions this season is showing progress on defense. The offense is great and that shouldn’t change but the defense is still not great, though it has been on the rise. With other teams in the NFC North looking to do the same, Detroit has a leg up — especially since the front office doesn’t have to find a replacement for its top-tier coordinator.

The Lions have something special in the works. They are legitimate playoff contenders and have a lot of playmakers around a solid quarterback in Jared Goff. Johnson will eventually become a head coach somewhere and hope to spark a similar turnaround. But that’s for another season, at the very least.