Football nerds know that “NFL†stands for two things

Option #2 generally refers to excessive celebrations and colorful shoes. But with some teams, it’s also about their style of play.

There are a goodly number of franchises whose offensive playbooks are utterly vanilla, consisting of interior handoffs, and skinny posts, and the periodic play action. We’re not naming names. But they know who they are.

That, however, wasn't the case in the Motor City in 2024, where fun abounded. Under the diabolical offensive mind of Ben Johnson, the eminently entertaining iteration of the Detroit Lions was one of the exceptions that proved the rule.

It’s been reported that Johnson is ready to move away from Michigan and consider relocating to Illinois, Florida, or Nevada.

Granted, Johnson himself hasn’t gone on record with his intentions, but considering the Lions’ season came to an end at the hands of the Washington Commanders in the NFC divisional round, he’s free to take whatever job he’s offered...so things might happen quickly.

If any quarterback in this league could use an imaginative play caller, it’s Bears field general Caleb Williams.

Last season, the former Heisman Trophy winner was saddled with the astoundingly uncreative Shane Waldron and the overmatched Thomas Brown, a couple of OC’s whose playbooks were utterly vanilla, consisting of interior handoffs, and skinny posts, and the periodic play action.

And, in the case of Brown, screen passes.

Among the reasons Johnson is such a hot commodity is that aforementioned diabolical mind of his, a mind that houses the kind of always-firing neurons that come up with trick play, after trick play, after trick play:

Admittedly, nutty play calling has a time and a placeâ€"and this mess near the end of the Lions’ loss to the Commanders wasn’t one of ’em.