John

Morton

Morton was fired as offensive coordinator of the Lions after the season, though he was stripped of play-calling duties midyear. The 56-year-old coach has coached under Sean Payton in New Orleans and Denver before, so his arrival with the Broncos this week isn’t a big surprise. Morton could find himself on Payton’s staff again next year as well.

Just five days ago, Morton said he wanted to say with the team even in a lesser role. Dan Campbell, who took over playcalling duties from Morton midseason, apparently did not agree to this arrangement. Morton will probably catch on elsewhere lower on the ladder in 2026, perhaps back in Denver with Sean Payton.

Morton told the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett that he views the Lions’ organization as his “home.” While he would likely prefer to keep his current job, he is open to shifting duties, ostensibly to a lesser role. He served as a senior offensive assistant back in 2022. At the very least, a job like that could make sense for both Morton and the team.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell took play-calling duties from OC John Morton in Week 10. The offense averaged 5.8 yards per play in Weeks 1-9 and 6.1 from Weeks 10-17. Campbell could feasibly keep play-calling duties in 2026, though he may wish to hand that responsibility off to an up-and-coming offensive mind.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero observed Campbell holding a play sheet on the sideline, reporting that Campbell “is doing the talking into the headset in between plays.” Per Pelissero, there are “lots of indications” of a disconnect between Morton and the rest of the Lions. Recent reports indicate the team is disappointed with WR Jameson Williams’ involvement thus far, and that they hope to give rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa increased opportunities, but this is the most direct callout we have seen regarding a specific Lions staffer. Despite Pelissero’s report, the situation remains somewhat opaque. The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett notes Campbell held a play sheet last week and questions whether Campbell is actually running the show, offensively. After asking Campbell about it during the Week 10 practice week, Birkett reports that Campbell simply said he has “a million ideas,” and will continue trying new ones each week. It is possible Campbell began taking over play-calling duties during the Lions’ Week 8 bye. We expect beat reporters to chase the story.

While this development was expected, St. Brown’s comments confirm that Lions training camp will be worth following closely this summer. Prior reports indicated Morton could increase the Lions’ downfield passing rate this season, potentially leading to a larger role for Jameson Williams. Jahmyr Gibbs finished as the overall PPR RB1 last year despite totaling just the eighth-most touches (302). Could Morton shift more of the backfield’s workload toward him this year? Stay tuned.

Morton previously worked as a senior offensive assistant with Campbell’s 2022 Lions squad before serving as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator in 2023-2024. While Birkett expects “the Lions to throw the ball downfield more under Morton,” we can also safely expect Morton to continue featuring Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game. Both Campbell’s 2022-2024 Lions offenses and the Broncos’ 2023-2024 offenses ranked top 12 in total targets thrown to the running back position annually. Gibbs should again contend for the overall RB1 spot in PPR formats.

Morton spent the 2022 season serving as a Lions senior offensive assistant before heading to Denver to serve as the Broncos’ pass game coordinator from 2023-2024. While Jared Goff (7.0) and Bo Nix (7.8) operated via similar aDOTs last year, Nix’s 126 passes thrown 15-plus yards downfield rank third among NFL QBs and hold a 23-pass edge over Goff, whose 103 qualifying attempts rank 13th. Increasing the Lions’ downfield passing frequency would benefit speedster Jameson Williams, who Morton talked up as a breakout candidate last week. Williams finished as the PPR WR22 last season.

Morton was not widely successful in his one previous appearance as an OC with the juggernaut Josh McCown/Robbie Chosen/Matt Forte Jets in 2017, but reportedly contributed a lot to the ideas the Lions created as a senior offensive assistant in 2022. Detroit will bypass assumed elevation candidate Tanner Engstrand, potentially opening up the door for him to head elsewhere. Obviously we can expect fewer trick plays now that Ben Johnson is out of town, but there’s not a whole lot to suggest this isn’t a continuity hire by Dan Campbell. Perhaps Morton will give us some more information when he meets with the Detroit media.

It sounds like this one could be finalized soon. According to Schefter, Morton is traveling to meet with the team for a second time after interviewing with them recently. Morton’s last offensive coordinator role came in 2017 with the Jets, where Josh McCown was the team’s QB1. Since that season, Morton has gone on to work for the Raiders, Lions, and Broncos in a variety of roles and spent 2022 as the Lions’ senior offensive assistant. His familiarity with Dan Campbell and several key figures on Detroit’s roster should make for a seamless transition as he hopes to provide more of a spark than he did in his lone year with the Jets.