Why Lions' Jared Goff has had 'fun' working with new OC John Morton

The Detroit Lions lost well-respected offensive coordinator Ben Johnson earlier this year when he left the club to become head coach of the Chicago Bears. 

Detroit responded to Johnson's departure by hiring former Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton to be their new OC. For an article produced by ESPN's Eric Woodyard that was published on Friday, Lions quarterback Jared Goff touched upon what he's experienced working with Morton since the spring.

"I think his ability to listen to his players is massive," Goff said about Morton. "He's got no ego. He's very open to listening. He wants to know what we want to do. He's very open with listening to me and I feel like I've earned that, but he's very open to it and collaborative and it's fun, it's really fun to be a part of an offense, for not only myself, but the leaders like (wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown), (offensive tackle Penei Sewell), (tackle Taylor Decker), to be able to give that input and to have it express itself in the plays. It's been fun. It's been great."

Goff enjoyed arguably the best season to date of his career as he became a 2024 MVP finalist while playing under Johnson. According to Pro Football Reference stats, Goff ended the campaign ranked sixth in the NFL among qualified players with a 68.4 adjusted QBR, second with a 111.8 passer rating, second with 4,629 passing yards and fourth with 37 passing touchdowns. While Goff guided the 2024 Lions to a 15-2 record, an injury crisis ultimately sank Detroit's Super Bowl dreams.  

That said, Morton and Goff aren't strangers. During the 2022 season, Morton was a senior offensive assistant with the Lions as they went 8-2 after Halloween.

"I would say it's a mix of like 50-50," St. Brown said about how Morton's offense is different from Johnson's. "...He's kind of grabbed stuff from his offenses, kind of kept stuff the same from the offense we had, and just kind of mixed everything in. A lot of the stuff we know, but some of the stuff, obviously, we've got to learn, and it's new stuff, so it's a mixture."

Whether or not Morton finds the right mixture could determine if the 2025 Lions do more than simply reach the playoffs. As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Detroit fifth among the betting favorites at +1100 odds to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. 

"He got a different kind of humor," Lions running back David Montgomery added about Morton. "It's like an old person's humor. He's funny. ... He was here before me, so he knows this offense already. He's petted this offense. So, it's not really like a bunch of different stuff, but he's definitely got his own spin and twist to it."