John Morton is set to re-join Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos after getting ousted as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator. ESPN reports Morton is expected to become the pass-game coordinator in Denver.
Morton has bounced between the Lions and Broncos since 2022. He worked as a senior offensive assistant in Detroit, then took over as pass game coordinator for the Broncos in 2023 and 2024. Morton was back with the Lions for one season as offensive coordinator, then joined the Broncos as an offensive consultant in the postseason. He previously worked under Payton as the receivers coach in New Orleans between 2015 and 2016.
His time as offensive coordinator in Detroit was doomed after nine games. Dan Campbell replaced Morton as offensive play-caller, with Morton working with the passing attack and staying in the Lions coach’s ear during games. Detroit’s offense never clicked under Morton, at least at its expected levels.
The running game was inconsistent, there were third-down struggles and the offensive line regressed early and never fully recovered. At the time of the switch, Campbell said it was hard to see inside of his head and he knew what he wanted his offense to look like. There were statistical improvements for the rest of the season. But once tight end Sam LaPorta went down, the third-down struggles returned and the rushing attack limped to the finish line.
“Johnny did a lot of good things this time around, the first time around for us,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said last month. “So, appreciate all of his efforts and everything that he put into it. But look, there is a time where you just have to just make a decision, especially when candidates are becoming available. You have to just make the tough decision to move forward and move on. So, we didn’t have a pre-determined date in mind or anything like that. It’s just kind of after some discussions, just felt that it’s time to just move on and start fresh.”
Detroit has since hired Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator, with Mike Kafka and Dan Skipper set to join the coaching staff, as well. The Lions and the rest of the NFL world are headed to Indianapolis for the combine for the next week. Petzing is expected to meet with Detroit reporters during the week, with Campbell and Holmes scheduled to speak at press conferences early in the week, too.