Detroit Lions fire OC John Morton after one season

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John Morton wanted to return to the Detroit Lions in 2026. He even had aspirations of regaining play-calling duties.

Instead, two days after the season finale, coach Dan Campbell is opting to take things in a different direction, dismissing his hand-picked offensive coordinator after one season.

Morton, an Auburn Hills native and Western Michigan alum, was brought on to replace Ben Johnson after the former coordinator took a head coaching position in Chicago last offseason.

It was Morton’s second stint with Detroit, having served as a senior offensive assistant in 2022, when Johnson was designing and implementing his offensive system that would help the team finish top-five in scoring three consecutive years and rack up a franchise record number of points in 2024.

Morton, a respected assistant who had worked for some of the game’s best coaches, including Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh and Jon Gruden, had previously overlapped with Campbell in New Orleans. Prior to getting the offer to helm Detroit’s offense, Morton was working as Payton’s pass-game coordinator in Denver.

Morton’s reputation was centered around his relentless work ethic and opponent-based film prep.

"He's super passionate and he works his tail off," Payton said in March. "He's great with film study and ideas."

Taking over a Lions offense loaded with weapons, it was always going to be difficult for Morton to outright fail.

"I'm like a kid in the candy store," Morton said in his first meeting with local media. "I mean, it's Christmas all over again."

But while the team continued to score points in bunches early in the season, they lacked the balance and attention to detail they previously had under Johnson. That included a massive step back in the run game.

The team also had issues with in-game adjustments, most notably in a mid-season matchup with Minnesota, where quarterback Jared Goff was repeatedly under pressure from blitzes up the middle. That performance led to Campbell taking over play-calling from the coordinator for the remainder of the season.

On Monday, in his season-ending press session, Campbell said his top priority would be reviewing his coaches.

“Well, the first thing I’ve got to figure out is the staff,” Campbell said. “I need to make sure that — where do we go from here? I need to make sure that I feel good about where the guys are at, the positions they’re in. Or do we tweak a couple of things, move a couple of guys, do we stay pat? Those are the things I’ve got to sort through, that’s the first for me. That’s what I’ve got to get through. And I’ve got to do some digging here.”

A day later, Morton was dismissed.

Campbell will now be on the hunt for another offensive coordinator. That could be an external hire or an internal promotion. It’s also too early to say whether it will entail Campbell continuing to call plays in 2026.

“I mean, I’m open to anything,” Campbell said on Monday. “I don’t know exactly where I’m at with that yet. 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.

“But listen, I’m going to think through all of that, and I think I really want to do what I feel is best for the team, that included,” Campbell said. “If I believe that’s what’s best for us and I feel good about it, then I will. If I just feel like, ‘Eh,’ then I won’t do it.”

Between the two play-callers, the Lions finished fourth in scoring, fifth in yards and top-10 in red zone efficiency and giveaways.

But the team struggled on critical downs, ranking 20th on third down and 15th on fourth. They were also middle of the pack in rushing yards per game, with the ground game’s efficiency taking a hit.