Where does Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson get his ideas? Everywhere.

I wanted to know the secret to Ben Johnson’s success. I wanted to know where the mastermind of the a top-five offense in the NFL gets his great ideas.

Receiver DJ Chark once called the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator “a little evil mastermind” who sits “in his lair drawing up plays to take over the world.”

The description conjured ideas of someone part Albert Einstein and part Dr. Evil.

Who could argue? After all, what kind of a mind possesses the genius to draw up a pass to his right tackle in motion on third-and-7 in the final two minutes of a crucial December game against the Vikings, much less one that gains a first down?

What kind of audacity calls a hook-and-ladder play on second-and-22 that helps ice a January game at Lambeau Field and sends Aaron Rodgers out a loser in his Packers finale?

So where does this come from?

“It’s a collaborative effort,” the offensive chief said, suddenly going on the defensive with a cop-out and doling out praise for his offensive line coach, his head coach and the entire coaching staff.

But here’s the thing. When Johnson says it’s a collaborative effort, it just might be one of the NFL’s most collaborative efforts — because it could include a contribution from someone who isn’t even on a team.

I mentioned that Chiefs coach Andy Reid once used a touchdown play in Green Bay designed by a janitor before I asked Johnson where he’s gotten his wildest inspiration. It was a doozy.

During a recent joint practice with the Jaguars in training camp, a game official approached him with a diagramed play that he still keeps in his office.

“He’s got 11 guys written up and he literally took the entire special-teams period,” Johnson said with a huge smile. “It was over five minutes talking about how this play would work out.

“That’s probably been the coolest setting that I’ve been (part of) — I mean we’re right in the middle of practice and he went off on a tangent. It’s a good idea. It’s a little bit out of the box. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it happen before.”

So if you hear Jared Goff audibling to “Zebra” or “Jaguars” in Thursday’s NFL opener in Kansas City, you’ll know where the play came from, even though Johnson promised to give the official credit if he uses it. (Note to Roger Goodell: Don’t ruin this.)

I hope Johnson does use the play, because it would be another example of the exhilarating breath of fresh air he has provided for a team choking on its own dysfunction in the middle of the 2021 season — y'know, when offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn had to be demoted and Johnson was made the passing-game coordinator.

In 2022, his first season of calling plays at any level, the former walk-on quarterback at North Carolina — who pretended to be Joe Montana as a kid but never rose above No. 3 on his college depth chart — lit the NFL on fire.

If he didn’t resurrect Goff’s career, he certainly resuscitated it, paving the way for 29 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a return to the Pro Bowl.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, a fourth-round pick who isn’t even 6 feet tall and ran the 40-yard dash at the 2021 combine in 4.51 seconds, had 1,161 receiving yards and made the Pro Bowl.

Jamaal Williams, who had 13 career rushing touchdowns over five seasons, led the NFL with 17 in 2022.

In July, Johnson deservedly received Pro Football Focus’ top ranking among offensive coordinators. The analytics site noted that he “consistently seemed to be one step ahead of opposing defensive coordinators last season,” and that Johnson helped Goff put up “elite-looking numbers” despite his throw-by-throw statistics remaining close to his career baseline.

“That difference,” PFF said, “highlights Johnson's performance as the play caller.”

The scary part about Johnson’s talent is that he might have only scratched the surface.

“I think last year,” Goff said, “we were kind of at a base level of it and really kind of, at times, flying by the seat of our pants, as far as early on in OTAs and training camp, installing stuff, seeing what works.

“And now we’re able to kind of know who we are and know what we want to do on offense. And we kind of know what works for us and being able to dive into those details and make it even better and more explosive and more complementary. And all that stuff has been fun to see him kind of dive into it even deeper.”

Johnson never got into a game for the Tar Heels. He spent his time watching and learning. He earned degrees in math and computer science, but he doesn’t come off as an aloof academic, or even a nerd.

He is quiet, though. And pensive. Next time you’re at a game, watch him after a drive is over. Unlike other coordinators on the sidelines, he doesn’t meet the offense as it comes off the field. He just quietly walks over to the empty bench the defense vacated, plops himself down, takes a breath and dives into his tablet.

“I take a little bit of time,” he said. “Within a drive, sometimes I can get a little emotional either way, highs and lows. So before I talk to anybody, I just want to make sure that I’m seeing that series as it unfolded and not necessarily a reaction that I might’ve had, good play or bad play.

“But it’s to collect my thought for the next series. Are they doing anything that I wasn’t expecting?”

Johnson, 37, is as prepared as anyone for the job he has. But even after just one year as a coordinator — and more than 10 in the NFL — it’s clear he has grown beyond it. He interviewed for three head coaching jobs this winter, leaving the Lions lucky he wasn’t hired away.

All coaches hate talking about the future, especially about their personal prospects. So when I asked Johnson about where he has grown the most, not only as a coordinator but as a coach in general, he declined to give much of an answer.

“That’s a good question,” he said, “and I like to keep some of that close to the vest, to be honest with you.”

If this season goes the way everyone thinks it will for Johnson and the Lions, the only thing lacking on his résumé will be the commanding presence head coaches tend to have, the one that makes owners warm and fuzzy inside.

Unfortunately for Johnson, he’ll never have the colorful personality of a Dan Campbell or a Bill Parcells. But there’s also an upside to a more subdued nature.

“I think communication and just overall listening ability,” Goff said of Johnson’s biggest strength as a coordinator. “A lot of guys are smart and a lot of guys can draw up anything and can put the offense in an advantageous spot, which I think he does a lot.

“But he’s very available to listen, to not only me but the coaches and all the players. And what do we see? What do we like? What do we want?”

Goff gave an example of Johnson’s willingness to accept a lineman’s suggestion for a different run play.

“He’ll call it right away and it’ll work, and it doesn’t bother him to get suggestions,” Goff said. “And I think that’s something that makes him pretty special.”

You never know. If you’re willing to listen and open yourself up to a different way of thinking, you just might find a great play call from the unlikeliest of sources — or maybe even hire a soft-spoken coordinator to be your next NFL head coach.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson a head coach in waiting