Why cant we pay a really good OC just like (or close to) a HC?

Is there anything that prevents that? If the OC brings as much value as the HC to the organization, can we just throw money at him? Sorry if it’s a dumb question

Not a dumb question.
I’ve suggested it a few times.
Ben is one of the highest paid assistants in the NFL.
His salary approaches low end Head Coach money.
If / When he leaves it won’t be because he is chasing money.
Ben will leave when he he is ready to take on the challenge of leading an organization and gets the right situation from ownership to management structure and contract that sets him up for success.

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That’s exactly right… Just depends on the coach’s ambition. Most young guys want to climb to the top… A lot of the time they don’t like the view from there and come back off the mountain (Jim Schwartz, Wade Phillips). But you don’t know until you get there and give it a look

Team Budget is about it.

The Lions have a gifted roster. They would have their pick of options to fill the OC spot if Ben leaves.

Question is what is Sheila willing to spend and will Ben stay.

With ben we need fans to get into his wife and kids heads about wanting to stay. They have alot of say in this

I’m thinking a “GoFundMe” account would be an interesting add.

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I think the human race has a ‘should’ problem. As in, a lot of us have a narrative running in our heads about all kinds of ‘shoulds.’ Like, we ‘should’ want this or that, or we ‘should’ accomplish X by Y age, or we ‘should’ do this activity.

That’s not a problem on it’s own. The problem is when the ‘should’ conflicts with actual desires and happiness. For example, based on the script, Ben ‘should’ parlay his success as an OC to a head coaching job when the right opportunity presents itself.

It takes a strong person to resist that urge, and know when ‘enough is enough.’ It seems Ben may be that person, but maybe the draw is too strong. Either way, I hope he sticks it out here for a while!

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I nominate myself for our OC job should Ben leave.

We’re gonna score 100 million billion points per game.

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Lions Fans: “Can we keep Ben?”


“You got Ben money?”

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Who wouldn’t want to be the OC for Dan Campbell? You get to run the plays you invented in middle school on the back of your math homework.

Look for a tackle eligible double pass soon.

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yes we can

Team budget plays a big part obviously, but so does the ‘circle of agents’ and owners who talk amongst each other. Let’s say one team pays both the HC and OC similar money, then everyone talks and it becomes an expectation. Can’t imagine other owners would enjoy that. Sure, you CAN go against the grain and do what you want, but it’s probably not best to alienate your peers and the ‘unwritten understanding’ of pay bands within the coaching ranks.

Ben marrying Sheila will give us an unlimited offensive coordinator in Ben . I am backing off proposing Sheila considering the sake of lions future

@stephenboyd57

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I looked this up last night, the highest paid OC makes $3M/yr, Ben Johnson currently makes approx $2M/yr (tied for 6th). Average NFL Head Coach makes $9M/yr, highest paid is Andy Reid at $20M/ yr. If/when Ben leaves to be a HC, guessing he will be in the 12-15M/yr with a large portion guaranteed. $2M is good money, but we’re talking about a 600-800% raise with guarantees, pretty hard to say no to that. I believe Ben returning to Detroit was mutually beneficial, his success this year surely added $$$ to any offers he’ll receive. That said, I don’t think he’d see significantly better offers waiting another year, his staying would be motivated by considerations other than financial.

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Thank you for your selfless attitude. You can still be Sheila’s pool boy :wink:

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Oh yeah the shirtless pool boy :rofl:

@stephenboyd57

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fat-guy-dancing-cant-stop-the-feeling

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Why do you think Ben will get 12 to 15 as first time head coach? I would think he’s worth about 5-6M due to lack of HC experience.

Dan currently makes around 4M, if we bump Ben up to close to 4, I think he would stay long term. Besides, a lot more responsibility as a HC for the extra couple of M

Time to break out the Benjamin’s!
Founding Father Dance GIF

The $4M per year was on the original contract.
Dan has a new contract that pays him $11M/year.
As hot as he is Ben won’t get +$12M/yr.
He is likely to get $6M-$8M/yr.
I think he may follow Dan’s advice and ask for a longer term contract so he is able to build whatever franchise he gets right.