Dan Campbell Reveals Lions' QB Plans Entering Offseason on Monday
The Detroit Lions offseason has begun a lot sooner than many expected after a surprising 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round. This loss once again highlighted Jared Goff's tendency to turn the ball over. Goff ended the night with four total turnovers: three interceptions and one fumble.
As a result of this performance, Goff's skeptics are returning. This led to both players and head coach Dan Campbell backing up Goff in their media appearances after the game. Despite renewed questions about Goff, the team remains fully committed to him as their starting quarterback.
With Goff's job safe, the Lions' attention now shifts to finding a new offensive coordinator. Current offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is likely to land a head coaching job sometime this week or next week at the latest. That forces Campbell to find a play-caller who can take over and continue to create dominant offensive game plans for the Lions.
On Monday, Campbell spoke to the media about involving Goff in the process of finding a new offensive coordinator. According to Colton Pouncy of the Athletic, Campbell said, "I want his input. To me, that's important... What he says, says a lot to me."
Dan Campbell on seeking Jared Goff's input if the Lions have to find a new OC: "I want his input. To me, that's important. ...What he says, says a lot to me."
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) January 20, 2025
Lions News: Goff Will Be Involved in Hiring New Offensive Coordinator
Campbell's stance on Goff's involvement in finding the Lions' next offensive coordinator aligns with his coaching style up to this point. Throughout three seasons as the head coach, Campbell has consistently put confidence into his players by empowering them. As a coach, nothing highlights your confidence and trust in your quarterback more than letting them help pick an offensive coordinator.
That said, one X user brought up an interesting point. Username @knick_knack__ said, " They're gonna have to keep it in-house then. Young rising coordinators aren't going to be beating down the door to tie their careers to Jared Goff. The lions are the only people that think this highly of him. Search should take about 30 seconds."
They're gonna have to keep it in house then. Young rising coordinators aren't going to be beating down the door to tie their careers to Jared Goff. The lions are the only people that think this highly of him. Search should take about 30 seconds.
— knick _knack_ (@knick_knack__) January 20, 2025
The reason this is fascinating is because a fan's perception of Goff might be way different than a young coach's perspective. In some fans' eyes, Goff's lack of mobility and propensity to turn the ball over from time to time are huge negatives.
Despite Goff's weaknesses, Ben Johnson has been able to make Goff look like a top-five quarterback the past two seasons. An up-and-coming young coordinator could look at what Johnson did to make Goff look so good and incorporate it into his game plan for Goff.
Although some young coordinators may prefer to work with a Patrick Mahomes/LamarJackson-type of quarterback, others might not. As a result, the Lions may not need to hire someone in-house to take over for Johnson.
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