Lions OC Morton focused on improving after role change: 'I was a starter, now I’m not. OK, what do I have to do to become a starter again?'

Allen Park — Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton met with the media on Thursday for the first time since he was stripped of play-calling duties by coach Dan Campbell.

Morton opened his session with comments about the team’s upcoming matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles before fielding a series of questions about the role change.

Instead of parsing those quotes, I’m going to get out of the way and let you read Morton’s introspective answers to the questions, which have been paraphrased.

QUESTION: Can you walk us through how last week went for you, having the play-calling duties taken away?

MORTON: “I’m not going to say exactly how it went down because that’s private, but I fully support it. Listen, man, I’ve been doing this for a while. I’ve been with head coaches who are offensive guys, play-callers, so I’m used to that.

“I feel very prideful of the things that I was doing. There are some things that I’ve got to learn, no doubt, just like everybody else. But, listen, I want to do whatever it takes to win. As soon as (Campbell) said it, I’m like, ‘All right, let’s go. What do we got to do?’ That’s the way I’ve always been in this business.

“I’ve been cut six times. I’ve been fired. You just march on because it’s always about the team. It always is. It ain’t about me and goals and this and that. No, the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl. I didn’t even blink twice because I know my role here. The only thing that’s changed is that he’s calling it on game day. Everything else is still the same.

“I don’t blink twice when things happen in this business. You always expect the unexpected, and you move on. That’s the way I’ve been taught. That’s the way I’ve always done it. I like where we’re at. I mean, I’m going to help him as much as I can, just like I did last week during the game, getting a feel of how he does things, how they’ve done it here. That’s good. I need to see that. And I’m helping him with things, because he hasn’t called plays a lot, and neither have I.

“But I tell you what, the collaboration that we have, we always have great communication. Every day, we always talk. It’s been great. Like I said, man, I just move forward. I just want to win. I’ll do whatever it takes to help this team win. I have a role. I know what it is. If he wants me to be ready again, I’ll be ready. That’s the way I approach it. Because I’ve always approached every game (that way). I’ve helped Coach (Sean) Payton on game day, and Jon Gruden, I’ve helped him on game day. So I’ve always approached the game like I’m calling it. That’s the way I’ve always done it. I’ve always prepared like a coordinator. I think that’s helped me, and I continue to do the same stuff.”

QUESTION: Do you see a possibility of regaining the play-calling role, and how do you approach the remainder of this season, knowing Campbell has said that’s on the table?

MORTON: “Yeah, I observe what’s going on during the game, and I just prepare like I’ve been doing. Like I did last week, I’m preparing like I’m calling the game. Because in the game, I’m like, ‘OK, you’re getting this, you’re getting that. OK, be ready for this.’ I help him with that. So, I’m approaching it like I’m still calling. Then I’m kind of watching how he does things, in a certain way, to get in the flow.

“There was a good flow last week, and the players felt it, too. That’s me observing that and looking at that.”

QUESTION: What did you learn last week observing that flow?

MORTON: “Yeah, I don’t want to go into it and give the opponent something. But I can see, whether it’s certain calls to set up this and that, that’s the thing that I’m learning a little bit — how they’ve done it here, which has worked really well. I’m not saying — I tried to do that, but I can see how it goes. That’s the biggest thing I caught from it.

QUESTION: How do you quantify or describe flow?

MORTON: “Well, you saw it last week. For one series, we had all first downs. I talked about CFL football for a second, but it wasn’t even that. I don’t know what it was; it might have been Tecmo (Bowl).

“You can feel it, you know what I’m saying? It’s just first down, second down, first down, second down, first down, second down. And we’ve had those moments this year, but it’s just like everything was clicking last week. I just thought that was really cool, seeing that, and the players feed off of that.

“That’s the thing I’ve learned from it. When I was calling it, I’m like, ‘OK, you want this, you want that.’ You know what I mean? I’m waiting, at times, for a call. Now Dan’s just calling it, and then he’ll say, ‘OK, give me a pass. What are you thinking?’ Boom, I’m ready. During the game, I’m ready. Whatever the down distance is, whatever it is, I’m ready for the pass. As soon as he says it, I’m giving it to him. That’s kind of how I’m approaching it.”

QUESTION: How are you able to be so positive with this situation?

MORTON: “Yeah, well, I’m still doing everything (else). Now, I’m (just) not calling the game. You always have to be positive. It ain’t about me. It’s about the team. It always is. I keep saying that, but it really is. I’m going to do whatever it takes.

“Why mope around so players can see that? What good does that do? To me, that’s the way I’ve been taught, just growing up, and the coaches that I’ve been around, always be positive. You do whatever it takes to win the game and to prepare the team. That’s what I’m still doing. Then it’s about me if I just mope around, and players see that. I’ll never do that. Never.”

QUESTION: But you worked your whole career to be a play-caller? Is there a shot to your pride?

MORTON: “No. I don’t see it (that way). It’s just like, OK, I was a starter, now I’m not. OK, what do I have to do to become a starter again? If someone tells you you’re demoted, you’re not going to be here anymore, you’re going to work for high school games, what are you going to do? You’re going to keep fighting. Right? That’s what we do. That’s what the Lions do. This organization has been awesome. They live off grit, adversity, fighting through it.

“That’s me. My dad worked for GM for 30-some years. I saw him work on the assembly line forever. So that’s all I know. Like I said, I was cut six times as a player, been fired plenty of times. What do I have to do to get better? That’s the way you approach it.

“That’s the way we tell our players, right? Player loses starting position, what is he going to do? Is he going to mope around and quit? No, he’s not, because we don’t hire guys like that, or we don’t draft players like that. We hire guys who are fighters and will do whatever it takes.”

QUESTION: Are you seeing teams make more of an effort to take Amon-Ra St. Brown away with their coverages?

MORTON: “Yeah, we’ve been seeing it. And they’ve also doubled Jamo (Jameson Williams) at the same time. A couple of teams have done that. Every team is different. Some people do it, some people don’t, some people play zone and double it that way, they cloud.

“Last week, we didn’t really see any of that. We were taking advantage of what they were doing. It was pretty simple. But, yeah, we know that going in, usually it happens on third down, right? So that’s my job to figure out ways, OK, how do I get him open a certain way?

“I love that and I love the game-planning aspect of that. I live for the week. I live for it because it’s a little chess match that you play to get guys open. Then you show them. This is why we’re doing this. OK, you’re going to get doubled. Well, let’s do this, so you can’t. There are certain ways to do it. Like I said, I’ve done it for a long time. And when I’m looking at how to get guys open, I’m thinking of all the plays and guys that I’ve been around, how we’ve done it, the coaches I’ve been around. I just love that whole aspect of just the grind during the week and figuring out things. Then, on game day, they go make it work, and it’s cool when it does work.”

QUESTION: Who instilled your love of the grind?

MORTON: “Like I said, you know, my dad, he worked all the time on the assembly line for 30 years. I mean, you work on the assembly line, that’s pretty tough. He didn’t want to elevate. You know what I mean? That’s all he knew was just the grease and everything.

“But Jon Gruden, that’s all I’ve learned. I’ve learned everything through him, and how you approach the game, your team and how you prepare. Everything’s been through him, and that’s what he’s always told me. He’s just like, ‘Man, if you’re ever freaking sick, you just fake it. You don’t ever let them know. If you’re miserable, you have a bad attitude, you don’t let them know,’ because the players feed off of you. Just like we feed off of Dan, right? We all feed off of Dan. If he just went up there and went, ‘OK guys, (mumbling)’

“That’s what the head coach should do. He’s the leader. And that’s all I know. Like I just said, and I know I’m saying the same thing over and over, all that matters is the team. And Bo Schembechler said it back in the day, right? It’s always about the team. It’s always about the team. It ain’t about individuals. It’s about us together. All right? So how do we do that? Let’s fight. Whatever we’ve got to do to make this thing work, that’s what we’re going to do, because the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl. The only way you’re going to win the Super Bowl is if you win it as a team. That’s it. It’s not individuals. It never has been.

And so that’s the way I’ll approach it. Coach Payton, he taught me the same thing. The people skills that I learned from Coach Payton have just been awesome. You know, and Pete Carroll, when I was at USC. That’s a lot of pretty good coaches right there. And each one of those guys has their strengths that I’ve kind of learned from, which is a cool thing to be around those guys, watch them and see how they do things. But the way Dan makes this team work, the way they look at him, man, is really awesome. He’s got it, you know what I mean? He’s got it. The players feed off of that. And it’s really cool to see that.