From Rob (@Robojr35):
Rob, I think that’s hard to nail down right now. I know that Johnson will be a bit pickier this year than he has been in years past in how many jobs he considers.
He has two criteria for looking at opportunities. Number one, he’ll want a team that’ll create alignment between the head coach and general manager. Number two, he’ll want to work for an owner who is willing to honestly identify his/her team’s weaknesses and address them aggressively. In other words, he’ll want what Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes got from the Detroit Lions in 2021.
With that as the backdrop, as I hear it, Johnson will only interview this year for jobs he can really envision himself taking. He won’t interview just to interview. And in the interview, rather than trying to assess an organization’s situation, or win the job, he’ll be selling his vision of what he believes it’ll take to win—so if an owner hires him, it’ll happen with buy-in into how he plans to build his own program.
I think it’s a smart, self-aware approach. And to your point, I do think it’s enabled by his happiness in Detroit, and willingness to stay there if the right job doesn’t come along.
