Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell sounded like someone who expected to lose both coordinators to external promotions before it became a reality. When asked about potentially replacing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, he said the goal was to stay "as close to what [they've] been as possible."
Campbell has stayed true to his word since Johnson and Glenn accepted head coaching offers with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, respectively. He elevated linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator and added former Denver Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton to run the offense. While the latter was an outside hire, the Lions organization and its sideline general are familiar with him.
Morton was the Lions' senior offensive assistant in 2022, plus he and Campbell had overlapping stints on the New Orleans Saints staff in 2016. Both experiences should expedite and ease the post-Johnson transition process. However, the 55-year-old is ostensibly distancing himself from his predecessor as the Detroit faithful braces for life without their wunderkind play-caller.
Lions new OC John Morton washes hands of Ben Johnson with Jared Goff warning
Johnson had total control of Detroit's scoring unit. He virtually pushed all the buttons until the formation was lined up and the ball was ready to be snapped. Yet, based on recent comments in an interview with Dan Miller of Fox 2, Morton doesn't plan on doing things that way moving forward. Instead, the Lions will revolve everything around franchise quarterback Jared Goff and his preferences/tendencies to maximize continuity.
A vastly different approach from Johnson's over the past few seasons, Morton entrusts Goff to "continue the vision" that's made them so successful. The philosophical 180 is an effort to help the Lions maintain their identity, though Detroit's new offensive coordinator declared: "It all starts with the quarterback."
After working closely with Goff alongside Johnson, Morton hopes the established connection helps Detroit not veer too far from how they've been operating. He's taking necessary action to ensure the Lions "stay true to who [they] are," which Campbell is trying to do.
Considering it wasn't broken when Johnson left, it'll be fascinating to see how Detroit's offense will look as Morton relies more on Goff.