Feb. 22, 2026, 4:12 p.m. CT<\/p>\n
For the fourth time in his career, assistant coach John Morton will be part of a Sean Payton coaching staff. As reported by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN<\/a> on Sunday, the Denver Broncos<\/a> are expected to hire Morton as their passing game coordinator. He was with the Detroit Lions<\/a> as offensive coordinator last season before being stripped of play-calling duties at mid-season and then fired at the end of the year.<\/p>\n Morton, 56, will be an assistant under Payton for the fourth time. He was part of Payton’s first staff with the New Orleans Saints<\/a> in 2006 as the passing game coordinator. After that season, Morton was an assistant with the USC Trojans and San Francisco 49ers before rejoining the Saints as a wide receiver coach from 2015 through 2016. Sean Payton brought Morton on as the pass game coordinator when he became the head coach of the Broncos in 2023.<\/p>\n However, Morton left Denver at the conclusion of the 2024 season to become offensive coordinator for the Lions under Dan Campbell, another former New Orleans Saints assistant coach. Campbell pulled play-calling responsibilities from Morton around mid-season, and Morton was relieved of duties altogether after Detroit finished a disappointing year. The Broncos brought Morton in as an offensive consultant for the playoffs, and are now prepared to elevate his position. Morton is the latest ex-Saints player or coach to join Payton in Denver after Ronald Curry recently signed up<\/a>.<\/p>\n