Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson received some interest in the head coaching cycle, taking a few interviews.
But he elected to return to Detroit for at least another year, giving the franchise a boost heading into its third year with head coach Dan Campbell and General Manager Brad Holmes.
It’s also a positive development for quarterback Jared Goff, who won’t have to get used to a new play-caller in 2023.
“It’s huge having him back and being able to have some good continuity heading into the offseason and having a guy that knows us and we know him,” Goff said this week, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s website. “Don’t have to learn a new system and all the success we were able to have last year, it’s huge.”
Goff played some of the best football of his career in 2022, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 4,438 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He didn’t throw a pick after Week Nine, throwing 15 touchdowns and losing just one fumble in the club’s last nine games.
Goff said the next step for Detroit’s offense is gaining more consistency.
“There were times this year where our run game was really good, and our pass game was just OK,” Goff said. “Then the inverse where our pass game was really good, and our run game was just OK. How do we bring it all together and get a little more consistent where everything is firing on all cylinders every week?”
After ending the season on a high note with the Week 18 victory over the Packers, the Lions are likely to be a popular preseason pick to make it to the postseason in 2023. But they’ll still have a lot to prove once September rolls around.