• Sun. Feb 9th, 2025

Ex-Lions Coach Pursues Offensive Coordinator Role After Ben Johnson’s Departure A former Detroit Lions coach has stepped forward as a contender to replace Ben Johnson as the team’s offensive coordinator.

ByEsther Godwin

Jan 27, 2025

The search to find a replacement for Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator has concluded, so attention now shifts to candidates for the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator role following Ben Johnson’s departure. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, Denver Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton has emerged as a key candidate for the Lions’ offensive coordinator position.

The report also mentioned that Morton recently had an interview with head coach Dan Campbell. Morton might sound familiar, as he was part of the Lions’ coaching staff in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant. Additionally, he had interviewed for the Lions’ offensive coordinator job when Campbell first became head coach in 2021.

Last year (credit to Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit), when discussing current passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand, Campbell shared his thoughts on Morton.

“John Morton, man, Johnny was – Johnny’s a superstar now and there’s a number of things that he did for us last year that are things that we’ve kept,” Campbell said. “And I really feel like that helped Tanner as well. And he took a lot of that, and he learned from that, and he’s grown from that.” John Morton is a solid candidate to replace Ben Johnson as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. Days before the report from Rapoport and Pelissero, John Maakaron of SI.com highlighted Morton as someone to keep an eye on for the Lions’ OC position.

A name to watch for Lions offensive coordinator. John Morton Passing game coordinator of Broncos. — Interviewed previously for Lions OC — Was with Lions staff in 2022 — Fits all of MCDC’s criteria #OnSI #SI #DSP #Podcasts pic.twitter.com/ZfKd1fyWx8

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) January 24, 2025 Other than a four-year stint (2007-2010) at USC, Morton has worked in the NFL continuously since 1998. He began as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders, followed by notable roles with the New Orleans Saints (passing game coordinator in 2006; wide receivers coach from 2015-16) and the San Francisco 49ers (wide receivers coach from 2011-14). He served as an NFL offensive coordinator once, with the New York Jets for one season (2017). Morton left the Lions to take his current role as passing game coordinator on Sean Payton’s staff in Denver. He and Campbell overlapped on Payton’s staff in New Orleans for two years (2015-2016), and, as previously mentioned, Morton had interviewed for the offensive coordinator role that Anthony Lynn eventually got in Detroit four years ago.

Campbell has emphasized his desire to keep the Lions’ offense as consistent as possible with a new coordinator. Morton appears to be a perfect fit for that philosophical alignment better than most external candidates.

 

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