Eminem has special request for Ben Johnson after Lions demolish Russell Wilson's Broncos
Detroit Lions fan Eminem had a special request for offensive coordinator Ben Johnson after they defeated Russell Wilson and the Broncos 42-17 on Saturday. Dan Campbell and his coaching staff have overseen a massive change of fortunes in Motor City and they can make the playoffs if the Seattle Seahawks lose to the Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend.
Their current 10-4 record also sees them fighting for the first overall seed in the NFC and they are favorites to seal the NFC North division title. The Lions have not won it since 1993 and have never won since the current divisions were reconstituted earlier in the millennium. That is a three-decade wait that fans like Eminem have had to endure.
The rapper expressed his pleasure that the Lions had rebounded after last week's divisional loss to the Chicago Bears and beseeched Ben Johnson to not leave Detroit and go elsewhere. He wrote on X, formerly Twitter,
Is Eminem right to be concerned about Ben Johnson leaving?
Eminem may not want to hear it but there will be plenty of teams that will be interested in Ben Johnson right now. He has been with the Detroit Lions since 2019, when he joined as an offensive quality control coach. That predates the time before Dan Campbell. He was the pass game coordinator under Anthony Lynn and took over offensive coordinator duties after the 2022 season when his predecessor was let go.
Since last season, the offensive game for the Lions has been in the top half of the league and Jared Goff looks like a long-term solution for them. That turnaround has many teams looking at Ben Johnson to come join them and change their fortunes.
With Brandon Staley fired this week after the Los Angeles Chargers' abysmal loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Lions offensive coordinator has been mentioned as his replacement. In Justin Herbert, they have one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and Johnson will have the chance to become a head coach for the first time.
That might be an opportunity too good to pass, but he could yet heed Eminem's advice and stay back in Detroit. They look to be cooking something special over there and they have a core group of excellent young offensive players like Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. Maybe he could decide that the next step for him is to get a Super Bowl with the Lions before he moves on elsewhere.