Mile High Report
According to reports, Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton is nearing a deal to become the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
According to ESPN’s lead NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Detroit Lions are nearing a deal to make Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton their new offensive coordinator. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported yesterday that Morton emerged as a candidate to watch for that job and now today, he traveling to Detroit to meet with the team.
If hired which looks very likely, Morton will replace Ben Johnson as the Lions offensive coordinator. Johnson, who was hired to become the Chicago Bears head coach has been the mastermind behind the Lions' explosive offensive attack the past few seasons. If/when Morton is hired to replace him, he will have big shoes to fill moving forward.
Morton spent time with the Lions back in 2022 as a Senior offensive assistant under Dan Campbell before joining Payton’s staff in Denver in 2023. Campbell, who is part of the Sean Payton coaching tree had Aaron Glenn on his staff as his defensive coordinator before he was hired by the New York Jets to be their new head coach. Glenn is part of Sean Payton’s coaching tree so it makes sense that he would target yet another coach who has ties to Payton.
Now with the Lions, Morton takes over a talented Lions offense that is led by quarter Jared Goff, running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. They have Super Bowl aspirations so we’ll see how Morton does in his first year as Lions offensive coordinator.
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...
