Mile High Report
With Ben Johnson hired as the new Bears head coach, the Lions are looking at Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton as a potential replacement.
According to NFL Network’s lead league insider Ian Rapoport, Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton has emerged as a candidate to watch for the Lions offensive coordinator position.
Broncos coaches and executives have been popular this offseason amongst other teams, and now we can add John Morton to that growing list. With former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson getting the Chicago Bear head coaching job, head coach Dan Campbell is looking for his replacement. Whoever that is, they have big shoes to fill as Johnson had the Lions' offense playing like a top offense all season long.
Morton is a 55-year-old coach who is currently the Denver Broncos pass game coordinator under head coach Sean Payton. His coaching career started back in 1998 when he became an offensive assistant for the Oakland Raiders. He was with them through the 2004 season when he became their tight end’s coach. He would spend the next season as the passing game/wide receiver’s coach for the University of San Diego before returning to the NFL in 2006 as the Saints passing game coordinator. He would go back to college a year later as USC’s passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach and eventually their offensive coordinator from 2007 through 2010. He would then return to the NFL as the 49ers' wide receivers coach from 2011 to 2014, go back to the Saints as their wide receivers coach from 2015 to 2016, before becoming the New York Jets offensive coordinator in 2017. A year later, he would go back to the Raiders as a Senior Offensive assistant from 2019 through 2021 before joining Dan Campbell’s staff in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant. He would then join Sean Payton’s staff in 2023 as the Broncos pass game coordinator. Now, he appears to be a top candidate to be Dan Campbell’s offensive coordinator in 2025.
Morton joins a growing list of Broncos coaches and executives who have been popular amongst other teams during this hiring cycle. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph interviewed with the Jets and Raiders for their head coaching positions, front office member David Shaw interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs, assistant GM Darren Mougey was hired as the New York Jets General Manager, tight ends coach Declan Doyle was hired as the Bears offensive coordinator, and now Morton is a top candidate to be the Lions offensive coordinator. Sean Payton’s coaching tree already includes the likes of Dan Campbell, Joe Lombardi, Aaron Glenn, Joe Brady, and Dennis Allen and is continuing to grow. Quarterback’s coach Davis Webb is expected to receive interest this year or next year while DB’s coach Jim Leonhard could as well.
I would expect more Broncos coaches to get more looks from other teams as these newly hired coaches begin to assemble their coaching staffs.
