Lions fire offensive coordinator John Morton after one season

The Lions are looking for a new offensive coordinator — again.

Detroit fired John Morton after just one season leading the team’s offense, the franchise announced Tuesday.

The move comes one year after offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the architect of the best scoring attack in football in 2024, departed for the Bears’ head coaching job. 

Morton has made various coaching stops at the college and professional levels since 1998 and had been on the Lions’ staff since 2022. 

While still solid, the Lions’ offense took a step back this season, ranking fifth in points scored and third in total yards. 

But there were signs Morton and head coach Dan Campbell weren’t quite on the same page. 

After a Week 9 loss to the Vikings, during which the Lions mustered just 65 rushing yards, Campbell took over the offensive play-calling duties from Morton. 

The Lions responded with their best offensive performance of the year, posting a season-high 546 total yards during a 44-22 win over the Commanders. 

“Look, I know what I want to do, I know how I want to do it,” Campbell said after that game. “Now, that being said, this is a collaborative effort, now. I was taking input from John Morton the whole time, and the other coaches. … This is all encompassing. We all work together. The coaches did a hell of a job, but I just wanted to change things up a little bit. Let’s just see if maybe a different play-caller can, maybe give us a little rhythm. That’s all. And, honestly, it’s nothing more than that.”

He added: “We made a change, it was good for today.” 

Overall, the Lions were a massive disappointment. 

After coming into the year with Super Bowl aspirations and making at least the divisional round in each of the last two seasons, Detroit finished 9-8, falling short of the playoffs.