INDIANAPOLIS — As Ben Johnson navigated the wide-ranging halls and patterned carpets of the Indiana Convention Center last week, he couldn’t help but draw attention. It’s different these days than when he first entered the NFL about a decade ago. In many ways, it’s so vastly different from last year. More glances in passing, more small talk with peers, more people wanting to introduce themselves. It didn’t go unnoticed.

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“I was talking to somebody about this the other day,” Johnson recalled Thursday in Indianapolis. “When you’re a young coach, it’s completely different than when you get five years in the league, 10 years in the league. You just know a lot more people. It’s just different walking through the convention center. Everyone wants to say hello and that sort of thing.”

It’s what happens when you make a name for yourself in this league. Much like Johnson did last year.

Events like the NFL Scouting Combine, where some of the best and brightest minds in football meet annually, offer a vast variety of heavy hitters and up-and-comers. As of now, Johnson resides in the middle. He doesn’t yet have the brand recognition of a head coach strolling through the lobby of the JW Marriott, but he does have their respect — and could one day join them. That alone is impressive.

Around this time a year ago, few could’ve imagined a rise so meteoric. Tight ends coach to first-year offensive coordinator. First-year offensive coordinator to a top-five offense. It’s been quite a year for Johnson, so much so that it impressed his coaching peers and put him on the radar of those with hiring power.

“He was perfect,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of Johnson’s 2022 season at the combine. “I probably expected more of a learning curve for a first-time coordinator, and Ben really just aced all of those tests. …I’m not surprised because I know Ben, I know what he’s about, I know the intangibles he brings to the table and the work ethic. He holds himself to such a high standard. I just thought he did an outstanding job.”

That respect for Johnson is evident. His offense averaged 26.6 points per game (fifth in the NFL) and 380 yards per game (fourth). He finished second in Assistant Coach of the Year voting, behind former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. It quickly became apparent during the season that his name had picked up steam. Could Ben Johnson leave the Lions? Will he get a look come January? Are his days in Detroit numbered?

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Johnson, of course, tried to downplay it all. Focused on turning Detroit’s season around and putting its best players in positions to succeed, he sidestepped questions about his future time and time again. But it was coming. And he knew it.

The promotion of now-OC Ben Johnson, basically anonymous in NFL circles, has led to this explosive offense. #Lions knew what they had. https://t.co/Onj6HZVOa5

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 19, 2022

When the 2022 regular season concluded, Johnson returned from Green Bay — disappointed the playoffs weren’t on the table but encouraged by the team’s progress. Players cleaned out their lockers. A potentially foundational year for the franchise, one that put Johnson on the map, had just wrapped up. The offseason awaited him. NFL teams in need of head coaches did, too.

That’s when the requests rolled in. The Colts, casting a wide net with multiple rounds of interviews, contacted him. The Texans, equipped with the No. 2 overall pick and major draft capital, did as well. Then the Panthers, the franchise residing in Johnson’s home state of North Carolina, came calling. As the process unfolded, Johnson had 48 hours to collect his thoughts and prepare to interview for a job that only 32 people on this planet can have at a time. The Lions’ brass was supportive throughout. Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell and others offered advice and guidance as he navigated his first offseason as a hot commodity.

“I had no idea what I was getting into at the end of the day,” Johnson said. “But had (an interview with) Houston, I want to say, that Thursday morning. Then Friday afternoon the next day I had Indy. Unique is probably the first thing I learned. Each place is a little bit different. They had their own situations that they were concerned about, but also the format of the interview was completely different for both of them as well.”

Those interviews with the Colts and Texans gave Johnson a taste of the process. They also gave him clarity.

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“There is no doubt that these opportunities aren’t guaranteed,” Johnson said. “They don’t come along very often. There are only 32 of the jobs, and I was honored that I had three requests come out. Did some due diligence on it. … I can just speak on a personal level. Some people, they really want to climb as fast as they can. I know particularly young coaches want to do that. That’s not been the case for me, per se.”

After talking things through his wife, Johnson informed the Lions that he’d be returning. He removed himself from consideration before a scheduled interview with the Panthers. For a Lions team hoping to continue its upward trajectory and make a playoff run next season, it was welcome news.

In Detroit, Johnson has a top-five offense he feels can get better. Even last week, as he was praised by his peers for the work he did last season, Johnson wasn’t satisfied. When he hears about all that went well for Detroit’s offense, he can’t help but think about the missed opportunities. The fourth-down stops, the big runs that weren’t. It’s how he’s wired.

Now with a year under his belt, he expects even more.

“This week last year, I almost didn’t leave my hotel room except for the interviews,” Johnson said at the combine. “I just stayed locked in there ’cause I was still trying to formulate the foundation and the backbone of what we were going to be. And so to look back where we were then and where we are now, we are so far ahead. That’s where I really think we can take another step because we’ll be so much more detailed as a coaching staff.”

Johnson’s offensive staff has been retooled, but the moves made could aid him in that process. Former Colts RBs coach Scottie Montgomery is now on staff to replace Duce Staley. Talking to folks in Indianapolis, as well as Montgomery himself, he comes across as a diligent and detailed assistant who’s worn a lot of hats in his career. He’s been a head coach, an offensive coordinator and a quarterbacks coach at the college level. He’s been a running backs coach and a wide receivers coach in the NFL. He’s called plays in the past. He even interviewed for the Lions OC position that went to Johnson a year ago. Having a coach with that sort of experience adds another element to this Lions offense and how it game plans this fall.

In addition to Montgomery, the Lions hired Arizona Cardinals tight ends coach Steve Heiden for the same role. Heiden and Campbell’s paths have mirrored one another. They both played the position. They were both third-round picks in 1999, drafted 10 selections apart. They both spent about a decade in the NFL and both got into coaching upon retirement. Tight end was the one position on Campbell’s offensive staff that wasn’t headed up by a former NFL player. He now joins Hank Fraley (offensive line), Antwaan Randle El (wide receivers), Mark Brunell (quarterbacks) and Montgomery.

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With Heiden in the mix, Johnson sees Tanner Engstrand’s role on staff evolving. He’ll retain the title of passing game coordinator, as Heiden assumes the TE room. In Indianapolis, Johnson noted that Engstrand was given more responsibilities as the 2022 season progressed. As Johnson tried to manage his time more efficiently, he turned to Engstrand to run the post-practice passing game meetings. He said he felt Engstrand grew into the role.

Smart organizations have succession plans in place, knowing they won’t be able to retain everyone. Johnson clearly thinks highly of Engstrand, and it appears the two have a good thing going. He’s one to keep an eye on, should Johnson eventually depart. Chalk that up as another potential benefit of Johnson’s return.

“Whatever’s coming out of his mouth is an extension of me and as a result an extension of Dan as well,” Johnson said of Engstrand. “He’s done a great job. He brings great ideas, positive at all times, and to see where he’s been since he got in the building to where he is now, he just keeps trending upwards.”

It remains to be seen how long Johnson will remain in Detroit. If he continues on his current trajectory, he should have options. He’s viewed as one of the best young offensive minds in the sport. Those guys don’t tend to stay coordinators forever.

But Johnson is fully aware of what he has in place and believes he knows where this is going. This is a Lions team that will enter 2023 with making the playoffs as a minimum goal. Those in Allen Park still wonder what might’ve happened had they snuck in this past season, and they’ll use that as motivation ahead of an all-important offseason. Helping this franchise become a perennial contender is exactly the sort of transition Johnson wants to oversee while he’s still around.

This week in Indianapolis, that was abundantly clear.

“I want to be around football,” Johnson said. “I want to win football games. I want to be around good people. And when I finally had a chance to step back and take a deep breath and look at it, that was the most important thing. I love Dan Campbell, I’ve known him for a long time, I believe in the direction of this organization. So that truly was the biggest drawing point for me to come back. … What we have here, what we’re building here, is something I want to be a part of.

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“I’ve been a part of a number of losing seasons in my 11 years in the NFL. To feel us to get so close to making the playoffs this year and knowing the players we have, knowing what Brad’s been able to do in his short time here in acquiring this talent, this personnel, it really makes me feel like, man, we just gotta kick that door down. Get our foot into the dance, and all bets are off when that happens.”

(Top photo of Ben Johnson: Rey Del Rio / Getty Images)

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