Jaguars Conclude Interview With Ben Johnson

The Jacksonville Jaguars have concluded their most important interview yet.

The Jaguars announced Saturday a completed interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, arguably the top name on the coaching market in years.

The offensive coordinator for the Lions for the last three seasons, Johnson also has experience playing quarterback and experience coaching quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends.

Johnson is among 10 candidates the Jaguars have scheduled interviews with and is the third coach interviewed by the Jaguars so far, following Steve Spagnuolu and Aaron Glenn.

Coaches from the two teams with first-round byes can hold virtual interviews with teams between Wednesday and the end of the Wild Card round, which pertains to each of the three candidates the Jaguars have interviewed so far.

As for in-person interviews with coaches who are under contract with other teams, those can begin on Jan. 20 ... as long as the coaches are not on teams that are playing in the conference title games.

As for the coaches on those four teams, they can interview between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2 but can not do in-person interviews if they had not already previously done a virutal interview.

"We will put in our requests for candidates and then interview them. We want them to interview us (and) what we have and be open on how we can be better," Jaguars owner Shad Khan said on Monday. "Whether it’s organizationally, people, whatever. If it’s legitimate and compelling, certainly I’m open to everything.”

The Jaguars are not the only team in the running for Johnson, with the big-name coordinator also having interviews either completed or scheduled with the Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears.

It remains to be seen what Johnson's preference is -- and which team will be after him the hardest -- but he is one of the top names to hit the coaching market in years thanks to his vast success with the Lions. It is important to remember that if Johnson and the Lions go on a deep post-season run, we may not have clarity on his decision and his future until several more weeks down the road in the 2025 offseason.

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