Detroit Lions upset Chicago Bears; Dave Birkett, Jeff Seidel react
Detroit Lions upset Chicago Bears; Dave Birkett, Jeff Seidel react at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
For the second time in less than a year, the Detroit Lions are looking for a new offensive coordinator.
The Lions fired John Morton on Tuesday, Jan. 6, a little over two months after Dan Campbell stripped him of play-calling duties.
The move was first reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The Lions later announced the move via social media.
Morton, the Lions’ senior offensive assistant in 2022, rejoined the team last winter after two years with the Denver Broncos, when Ben Johnson left to become head coach of the Chicago Bears. He said last week that he hoped to stay with the Lions in 2026, regardless of job title.
Morton, a Michigan native who played at Auburn Hills Avondale and Western Michigan, helped Johnson design a Lions offense in 2022 that spent three years as one of the best in the NFL. The Lions remained one of the highest-scoring teams in the league this year, but they often struggled to run the ball and their offense lacked consistency.
Campbell assumed play-calling duties after a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9. The Lions had one of their best offensive games of the season the next week in a 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders, but could not sustain that output and suffered in other areas with Campbell on the headset.
For the season, the Lions went 5-3 and averaged 29.9 points and 125.1 yards rushing per game with Morton calling plays, and were 4-5 while scoring 26.9 points per game and averaging 115.6 yards on the ground under Campbell.
Campbell declined to publicly evaluate the job he did as play-caller before the Lions’ season-ending win over the Bears. and he said in his end-of-season news conference Monday, Jan. 5, he hasn’t decided yet if he will call plays in 2026.
“I don’t know exactly where I’m at with that yet,” Campbell said. “I mean, I guess one of the good things if I did do that, you don’t have to worry about somebody else leaving. You don’t have to worry about your play caller leaving. So that would be one of the perks of it.”
Last year, the Lions interviewed just three familiar candidates for the job – Morton, assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery and passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand, who left to become offensive coordinator of the New York Jets – as Campbell prioritized continuity for quarterback Jared Goff.
This year, Campbell could cast a wider net with former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll (one of his close friends and former colleagues) and Denver Broncos pass game coordinator Davis Webb among the available candidates, and he could focus more on reigniting the rushing attack.
The Lions went 0-7 in games they failed to reach 100 yards rushing this year.
In five seasons under Campbell, the Lions have employed three different coordinators: Morton, Johnson and Anthony Lynn, who was relieved of play-calling duties midway through the 2021 season, Campbell’s first as coach.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This story was updated to reflect the official announcement of the firing.