John Morton, Lions Part Ways After 1 NFL Season, OC Replaced Ben Johnson

The Detroit Lions will need to find a new offensive coordinator for the second offseason in a row.

Detroit announced Tuesday it parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton. Morton was the Lions' choice to replace Ben Johnson after the latter left to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears, but he lasted just one season.

Morton was previously on staffs for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Denver Broncos. He was an offensive assistant for Detroit in 2022 and then returned to the NFC North team after two seasons as the passing game coordinator in Denver.

While much of the same key personnel remained in place on the roster for the Lions, they went from an NFC Championship Game appearance in the 2023 season and 15-2 record in the 2024 season to missing the playoffs entirely in 2025.

It was easy to point to the departure of Johnson as a main reason why, especially since he helped turn the Bears around from 5-12 in 2024 to 11-6 and NFC North champions in 2025.

Yet the offense wasn't the biggest problem in Detroit. 

The unit with Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and David Montgomery finished fourth in the league in scoring and fifth in the league in yards. It was a slight dropoff after leading the league in scoring and finishing second in yards last season, but it was still one of the best offenses in the entire NFL.

The defense, by comparison, was 22nd in the league in points allowed this season, which is a major reason the Lions missed the playoffs.

Still, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Morton when head coach Dan Campbell took over playcalling duties during the middle of the season.

"He's a grinder, he's a worker, and he just tries to help and give you anything you can possibly need for the game," Campbell told reporters when discussing Morton after assuming playcalling duties. "Look, if you're him, of course it probably doesn't feel too good, but he's also a pro and he understands everything, so we move on."

Now the team is moving on in a different way and will need a new OC in 2026.