After Ben Johnson left, the Detroit Lions have a new offensive coordinator, and it’s neither a promising young player or a name you’ve heard being prepared from the Lions offensive assistant ranks. The Lions made a semi-external move by hiring John Morton, the passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos.
Not everything about the coaching search went as planned. Similar to how Kelvin Sheppard replaced Aaron Glenn as defensive coordinator, Tanner Engstrand, the coordinator of the Lions’ passing game, was often mentioned as the next man up. Antwaan Randle El, a former Lions wide receiver coach and up-and-coming player, was also passed over by the Lions since he went to Chicago with Ben Johnson.
Morton isn’t exactly an outsider, though. He was a senior offensive assistant for Detroit in 2022, and Campbell credits Morton’s work with Tanner Engstrand’s growth. Campbell and Morton also went back to New Orleans in 2016, where Morton was wide receivers coach and Campbell was tight ends coach and associate head coach. Between that overlap, and Morton spending his final two years in the same coaching tree that Campbell came from under Sean Payton, there’s a significant degree of familiarity.
Today’s question: Are you in favor of John Morton being hired by the Lions as their offensive coordinator?
My response is: without a doubt.
I can appreciate the appeal of dating a hip young man like Engstrand, but it’s unlikely that someone like that will achieve the level of success that Ben Johnson has. There are a dozen Jim Bob Cooters and Joe Lombardis for every Ben Johnson. I’m happy that the Lions carefully considered both internal and outsider applicants.
In Morton’s case, his corpus of work is impressive. It was nothing short of a miracle what he accomplished with Josh McCown’s 2017 Jets offense.
More lately, it’s encouraging to see how Bo Nix develops as a passer in 2024 and what Morton can provide to Detroit. Furthermore, if what Dan Campbell stated in 2023 is accurate, his hire creates a certain amount of synergy.
There are some things that Johnny did for us last year that we have retained, and he is now a celebrity. And that, in my opinion, also benefited Tanner. He’s in a good place because he took a lot of stuff, learnt from it, and developed as a result. He is useful to us.
In addition to gaining an offensive mind with expertise, the Lions will also benefit from someone we already know increases the effectiveness of others in the coaching rooms. The Lions want that kind of impact to help develop their assistants. It’s possible that Engstrand wasn’t prepared for offensive coordinator duties and that he needs additional time to learn under Morton (should he decide not to accept the Jets offensive coordinator position).
Overall, I’m looking forward to what Morton has to offer. He has a solid track record of getting the most out of his quarterbacks and his familiarity with Detroit and its staff greatly reduces the risk associated with an external hire.
How do you feel about the hiring of John Morton? Are you in agreement? Disapprove? Is it too soon to tell? Tell us what you think by casting your vote below.