John Morton was a man in-demand before choosing to return to the Lions

When Ben Johnson left his post as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Dan Campbell pivoted quickly to replace him with John Morton.

Morton was a senior offensive assistant for the Lions in 2022, Johnson's first year as the offensive coordinator, and he spent the last two years as the Denver Broncos' passing game coordinator under Sean Payton (Campbell's mentor). So there were easy ties, and Morton was as close to an internal hire/promotion as an external hire can be.

Morton has only been an NFL offensive coordinator once before, with the New York Jets in 2017. But he is a veteran coach, and well-regarded enough that some good offensive minds (Payton, Jon Gruden, Jim Harbaugh) have hired him multiple times.

It's also fair to say Payton did not want to lose him from his Broncos' staff.

John Morton was in-demand before returning to the Lions

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Morton was checking into his hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when Campbell called him to gauge his interest in replacing Johnson as the Lions' offensive coordinator.

When Morton hung up from that call with Campbell, another call came. It was from Johnson, who wanted to him to be part of his Bears' coaching staff. Payton was vacationing in Cabo at the same time, and tried to convince Morton to stay on his staff in Denver.

Morton then called some of his closest confidants, and their sentiment revealed what his decision should be.

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"I talked to some people and they’re like, ‘Dude, if (Campbell) offers you the job, you freaking take it. What are you, an idiot?’ ” Morton said.

Campbell wasn't surprised to learn Johnson called Morton.

"I didn’t know Ben would call him, but I had a good hunch that Ben would call him,” Campbell told the Free Press. “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. 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.”

It's not surprising that Payton wanted to keep Morton, or that Campbell wanted to bring him back to replace Johnson. It's also not that surprising that Johnson wanted Morton to be on his staff in Chicago.

For Morton, the differentiator between the opportunities in Detroit and Chicago was probably very clear. Campbell has given him play-calling duties, while Johnson was almost surely not offering that opportunity.