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The Detroit Lions had one of the best regular seasons in franchise history this year, but it all came to a sudden, screeching halt in the playoffs. After a first-round bye as the top seed in the NFC, the Washington Commanders shocked the NFL world with a 45-31 win in Detroit in the Divisional Round.
As expected after the season, no matter the result of the playoff run, the Lions lost a massive part of their coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left to become the new head coach of the Chicago Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn left to be the new head coach of the New York Jets. Now, Dan Campbell and the rest of the Lions front office are scrambling to rebuild the assistant pool for next season.
Now, it looks like the Lions are closing in on a new offensive coordinator. Denver Broncos passing game coordinator Johnny Morton is traveling to Detroit to meet with the Lions, and Campbell and company are working to hire him according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Morton has already interviewed with the Lions once, so the hire seems imminent. Morton has been an NFL assistant for nearly 20 years, with a short stint at USC as well. He was the offensive coordinator for the Jets in 2017 and was fired after just one season when the Jets went 5-11 with Josh McCown at quarterback.
Morton also has familiarity with Campbell and the Lions after working with them as an offensive assistant in 2022 when the Lions were starting to establish themselves as a future powerhouse.
Morton has big shoes to fill, as Johnson had become one of the best and most creative play-callers in the NFL. Under Johnson, Detroit led the league in scoring at 33.2 points per game and finished second in total offense, racking up nearly 410 yards per game. In the playoffs, the Lions offense racked up 521 yards against the Commanders but were doomed by turnovers in the upset loss.
If Morton can get anything close to that kind of production from this offense moving forward, his hiring will be seen as a massive success in Detroit. His track record may not be there as an offensive coordinator, but now he will have the level of talent and infrastructure needed to show what he can really do.
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