Johnson is reportedly a leading candidate for the head job
The Las Vegas Raiders are among three teams to have interviewed Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head-coaching vacancy, along with the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. Johnson’s Lions averaged an NFL-best 33.2 points per game in 2024, the most in a single season in Detroit history.
Now, they are interviewing a former Lions executive and current Washington Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark on Sunday, a day after Washington ended Detroit’s 2024 season, per ESPN.
Given Johnson has been with the Lions since the 2019 season and Newmark was in Detroit for 26 seasons, it’s safe to say the two of them have plenty of experience working together. Newmark assisted the Lions front office’s player personnel department in 1998 before working for Detroit as an area scout (1999-2004), national scout (2005-2007), assistant director of college scouting (2008-2014), director of college scouting (2015-2016), director of player personnel (2016-21) and senior director of player personnel (2022-2023).
Any head coach needs to have a strong relationship with their general manager in order for a team to be built with an aligned vision. Should the Raiders land Johnson, Newmark would be a logical candidate to be the team’s next general manager.
