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Lions' Ben Johnson replacement is a Michigan man who comes with major questions

Morton has a long relationship with Dan Campbell, but plenty to prove at a play-caller.

By Chris Landers

May 23, 2017; Florham Park, NY, USA; New York Jets offensive coordinator John Morton walks the field during organized team activities at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
May 23, 2017; Florham Park, NY, USA; New York Jets offensive coordinator John Morton walks the field during organized team activities at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
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With Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn both moving on to head coaching jobs in recent days, Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions knew they were going to have their work cut out for them this offseason. Just over a week after the team's Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders, one of those holes has been filled, as the team announced on Tuesday that Denver Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton had been hired to replace Johnson as offensive coordinator.

Morton has plenty of marks in his favor, not least of which is the fact that he grew up outside Detroit. He's served under some of the best coaches in the recent history of the sport, from Sean Payton to Jim Harbaugh to Pete Carroll, and he has a long-standing history with Campbell that stretches back nearly a decade — Morton served as wide receivers coach for the New Orleans Saints while Campbell was the team's tight ends coach in 2016, and Campbell brought Morton to Detroit in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant. (He then moved on to Denver, where he was an integral part in helping Bo Nix hit the ground running in the NFL this season.)

But despite all that experience, and all the trust that Campbell has built up over the past few years in Detroit, there are some major questions about this hire that Morton hasn't yet answered.

John Morton comes with big upside and big questions as new Lions offensive coordinator

Campbell isn't hiring Morton to coach receivers, or to help with the passing game a bit. He's hiring him to construct an entire offense, and to replace one of the more innovative play-callers in the sport. And Morton's experience as an OC, specifically, leaves a lot to be desired. His first real play-calling experience came way back in 2009, Pete Carroll's final season at USC, and the results were mixed at best: The Trojans ranked just 65th in the country in points per game, and Matt Barkley threw nearly as many interceptions (14) as touchdowns (15). After one more year in L.A. under Lane Kiffin, Morton was moving on.

Morton would get a second crack in 2017, when Todd Bowles hired him to replace Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator. And while New York wasn't exactly overflowing with talent, alternating between Josh McCown and Bryce Petty at quarterback, the results weren't pretty: a 5-11 record and just 18.6 points per game.

Granted, it's been a long time since we've seen Morton at the controls, and he's presumably learned a lot from his stops since — particularly in Detroit under Johnson and in Denver under Payton. Few expected Nix to transition as seamlessly to the NFL as he did, and Morton's passing game undoubtedly had something to do with that. Plus, it's hard not to give Campbell the benefit of the doubt given the acumen he's showed building coaching staffs so far in Detroit.

But the fact remains that the Lions are going from one of the league's best play-callers to an almost total unknown as an offensive coordinator. That's a big risk, one that could have major ramifications on the Campbell era.

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