.jpg)
19 hours ago
1
The Detroit Lions lost offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears this offseason and replaced him with John Morton, who served as the Denver Broncos' passing game coordinator for two seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Morton served as the offensive coordinator of the New York Jets for just one season in 2017 before being fired, which has raised some questions and concerns about how he will fare in Detroit.
However, Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden had only good things to say about Morton when speaking to the media during his visit to Lions' training camp practice on Monday.
"He is a hard working guy. For all the Detroit fans, what you don’t see is the work ethic that you’re getting. This guy’s nuts, people thought I was nuts, this guy is freaking nuts, man," Gruden said on Morton.
Morton served as an offensive assistant on Gruden's staff with the Oakland Raiders, so the two know each other very well. It's refreshing to hear Gruden's endorsement of the Lions' offensive coordinator, who has a ton of pressure on his shoulders to replace Johnson, who took the Bears' head coaching job in January.
The departure of Johnson will hurt Detroit's offense a bit. However, the core pieces of the unit are still there, so the group should once again be productive this year despite the coordinator change. Morton is also incredibly experienced and did a wonderful job with Broncos quarterback Bo Nix in 2024, so he should be just fine in his new role in 2025.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Will Lions put Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery on the field together? Here's what John Morton said
Lions' center competition gets troubling update after first week of training camp
Penei Sewell's $112 million contract starting to look like a bargain for Lions
NFL analyst proposes rare Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears trade involving quarterback
English (US)