Pride of Detroit
A full breakdown of Detroit Lions new offensive coordinator John Morton.
The Detroit Lions hired John Morton to be their offensive coordinator this week. Morton will have big shoes to fill, as Ben Johnson led the Lions to the highest-scoring season in franchise history and the NFL lead in points per game in 2024.
To get an idea of how Morton may do with the Lions, let’s take an in-depth look at every place he’s coached over the past nearly 30 years. After that, we’ll look at what some of his players and fellow coaches have said about him.
1997 — Raiders personnel department
1998-99 — Raiders offensive assistant
2000-01 — Raiders quality control coach
2002-03 — Raiders senior offensive assistant
2004 — Raiders tight ends coach
After his playing career as a wide receiver ended, Morton spent the next eight years within the Oakland Raiders organization, first working in the personnel department before eventually working his way up to tight ends coach.
His first four years were spent under Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who had this to say about Morton (per the Detroit Free Press):
“You talk about a guy that can scheme them up. Man, he’s at the top of the food chain in terms of the guys I’ve worked with.”
During this time, Morton worked with the receivers and tight ends — including legends Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. The Raiders also produced top-five scoring offenses in three consecutive years from 2000-02, culminating in a Super Bowl appearance in that final year.
As for his stint as tight ends coach, his room didn’t produce much in the passing game:
However, none of those players ever really amounted to much before or after Morton left.
2005 — University of San Diego — Passing game + WR coach
Coincidentally enough, Morton crossed paths with Tanner Engstrand in this single year, with Engstrand working as a graduate assistant at the time.
Both worked under head coach Jim Harbaugh. That year, the Toreros went 11-1, winning the Pioneer Football League Championship. The offense was extremely explosive, averaging 42.6 points per game. Per an LA Times story, Morton did dabble in play-calling during this season.
Quarterback Josh Johnson (yes, that one) completed 236-of-344 passes for 2,881 yards (8.6 Y/A) 31 TDs, and 8 INTs in what would become the first of his three years as a starter. The leading receiver was someone named Adam Hannula, who hauled in 65 catches for 907 yards and nine touchdowns.
Johnson eventually became the first-ever player from the University of San Diego to be drafted in the NFL. (Fun fact: former Lions PR Jamal Agnew became the second, and there have been none since.)
2006 — Saints passing game coordinator + offensive assistant
Morton...
