The Detroit Lions have appointed a new offensive coordinator.
John Morton, who was previously the pass game coordinator for the Denver Broncos, has been chosen as the team’s successor for Ben Johnson. Dan Campbell reintroduces Morton to Detroit, as he collaborated with the team in 2022.
Here are five facts to understand about Morton before he begins his inaugural year as the Lions’ offensive coordinator.
Origins in Michigan
Morton is originally from Rochester Hills and went to Avondale High School. He ultimately ended up playing wide receiver in college, starting at Grand Rapids Community College and later at Western Michigan.
In 1991, he recorded 39 receptions for 588 yards and two touchdowns while playing for the Broncos. The subsequent year, Morton repeated his performance with 39 receptions for 690 yards and five touchdown scores. He went undrafted in the 1993 NFL Draft and played professionally for four seasons.
He moved between NFL practice squads, joining the Raiders, Packers, and Jaguars, along with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL and the Frankfurt Galaxy in the World League. His professional playing career concluded in 1997, marking the beginning of his coaching journey.
Prior influences
Morton started his career as an offensive assistant with the Raiders, working under Jon Gruden, a major influence on his coaching journey. He collaborated with Gruden until his exit in 2001, and he stayed with the Raiders until 2004, by which point he had risen to the position of tight ends coach.
The duo would collaborate on two different instances, as they came together again in 2019 when Gruden rejoined the Raiders.
Morton arrives in Detroit from Denver, where he has spent the past two seasons working with one of Campbell’s mentors, Sean Payton. The two years they spent in Denver mark the third occasion that Payton and Morton collaborated, having previously done so in 2006 and again in 2015-16, both while with the Saints.
His knowledge is also shaped by Jim Harbaugh. He spent a year working for Harbaugh at the University of San Diego, then reconnected with him for four seasons when Harbaugh became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Previous experience as a coordinator
Morton has served as an offensive coordinator, having held that position with the Jets during the 2017 season. That season, the Jets finished with a record of 5-11, and their offense averaged 18.6 points per game, placing them 24th in the league.
That season, the Jets had 38-year-old Josh McCown as their first-string quarterback. McCown achieved a career-high in passing yards during his season with Morton, while running back Bilal Powell reached a career-high in rushing yards. Morton was dismissed at the end of that season.
Alongside his tenure with the Jets, he served as the offensive coordinator at USC for two years, specifically from 2009 to 2010, spending one year under Pete Carroll and another under Lane Kiffin.
Background of wide receivers
Morton’s main area of expertise has been with the wide receivers. In his tenure with the 49ers from 2011 to 2014, he coached players such as former Lion Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, and Randy Moss.
During the 2015-16 season in New Orleans, he collaborated with Michael Thomas and Brandin Cooks, both of whom exceeded 1,000 yards in 2016.
Morton will now collaborate with players like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams while he hones the Lions’ offensive strategy. The influence of his background on the team’s passing strategy
Returning to Detroit
The 2022 season was significant for the Lions’ offense. Morton served in the organization as a senior offensive analyst, assisting behind the scenes in Ben Johnson’s inaugural year as offensive coordinator.
That season, the Lions recorded an average of 26.6 points per game, placing fifth in the league for scoring. They secured victories in eight out of their final 10 games following a 1-6 beginning to conclude with a positive record. Morton left for Denver following the season.
He is recognized for certain schematic aspects of Detroit’s system, which has thrived in recent years and ranked as the league’s top scoring offense in 2024.
Nevertheless, Campbell has expressed admiration for Morton whenever his name has arisen in the years that followed. It is clear that he has faith and assurance in Morton, and from the remarks he made regarding Jared Goff’s participation and contribution in the search, the same applies to the team’s quarterback.