Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton, left, talks to wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

John Morton Picked Detroit Lions Over Ben Johnson

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI
By John Maakaron | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 7:37 AM ET

John Morton had the opportunity to potentially work with Ben Johnson, had he not chosen to accept the offensive coordinator position with the Detroit Lions.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Ben Johnson contacted Morton and wanted the veteran offensive coach to join him in Chicago.

Dan Campbell and Sean Payton also wanted Morton to join and remain on their respective staffs', something the 55-year-old was wrestling with when he was vacationing in Mexico.

“I didn’t know Ben would call him, but I had a good hunch that Ben would call him. I mean, he’d be crazy not to. That’s the thing, Johnny is like a behind-the-scenes grinder. He's not somebody that has ambition to be a head coach, he just wants to coach offensive football," Campbell said, via the Free Press. "That’s all he gives a crap about, and then just -- that’s it. And so anybody that’s looking for somebody that’s creative and is a grinder, you’re going to want John Morton.”

Morton contacted his close confidants in football and was highlight encouraged to accept the offensive coordinator position in Detroit.

Jon Gruden told reporters, when he visited Lions' training camp, nobody would grind harder in the facility than Morton.

Detroit's newest coordinator arrives at the team's Allen Park Performance Center at 3:30 a.m. every day to begin his work, preparation for the day.

Morton credited Gruden for advancing the priciples of the West Coast offense.

"Everything about the game," Morton explained. "Jon was like, the West Coast offense of Bill Walsh and Mike Holmgren's of the world. He was the first one to kind of venture off, still running the West Coast type of principles but with different formations, shifts and motions and things like that. It opens your eyes to the whole aspect of everything."

Campbell is hoping having two new coordinators can be just the spark the team needs heading into the 2025 NFL season.

“This could be like just the perfect, the right time for all this to go down. A couple of new coordinators. We’re still doing a lot of things that we’ve done here," said Campbell. "We’re keeping really the foundation of what I believe, what we believe, but there’s a few wrinkles in, right? So I just think sometimes change can, it can give you a little bit of a spark. And what I’m excited about is to see how far we’ve come as a staff with this group of players and the work they’ve put in.”

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: