New Lions OC John Morton admitted he wasn’t ready the first time he was offensive coordinator. He explained at the NFL Combine why he’s confident this time around.
New Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton has been in this position before. Back in 2017, he was the offensive coordinator of the New York Jets . Led by 38-year-old quarterback Josh McCown, running back Bilal Powell, and a receiver group including the likes of Robbie (Chosen) Anderson and Jermaine Kearse, the Jets predictably struggled to put up points. They finished 24th in scoring offense that year, and Morton was let go after just a single season of calling plays.
Eight years later, Morton is a completely different coach who finds himself in a completely different situation. He admits looking back, maybe the Jets opportunity and timing weren’t best for him.
“I wasn’t ready back then, and it was a tough situation,” Morton told a group of select Detroit reporters on Tuesday at the NFL Combine .
But since then, he’s grown wiser and stuck to the plan he told Jon Gruden, one of his biggest mentors.
“I want to be an OC.”
Since that Jets job, he served as the senior offensive assistant for Gruden’s Raiders. He reunited with Sean Payton—another mentor of his—working as the Denver Broncos ’ pass game coordinator for a couple of years. All the while, he was essentially taking mental reps as an offensive coordinator on game days.
“Even though I’ve been the receiver coach or the passing game coordinator most of the time, I’ve always prepared like I’m a coordinator, okay,” Morton said. “I was already ready. So during the game, I was always with Gruden, I was always with Sean. I’m right there. I’m ready to call the game.”
He was also quick to note that he was calling the passing plays for Jim Harbaugh back in the day.
Beyond growing as a coach since his struggles in New York, Morton also pointed to the situation he’s walking into with the Lions. With the Jets, he was surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar coaches who may not have seen the game similarly. He likened it to a chef who comes in with their own recipes and ingredients, but is told he can’t use those ingredients.
Now, he’s joining a Lions team that he specifically helped install their offense just three years ago. He knows several of the coaches, including Dan Campbell and longtime best friend (and current Lions pass game coordinator) David Shaw.
“This situation, it’s going to be a way easier transition for me,” Morton said. “I’ve been around the quarterback position now. I understand that. I know the players. A lot of the coaches know me. A lot of the players are going to know me. It’s gonna be a transition to me. I’ve been preparing that if I get another chance, I’ll be ready. Ever since that opportunity, I just learned from that and I go on.”
While Morton believes he’s more prepared as a play-caller now, his previous calling card was the preparation he does throughout the week—a role he still professes his love for. His previous stint with the Lions included tireless work: finding tendencies, digging up film, and just throwing whatever ideas he could at then-offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
“He does not lack ideas ever. So he’s very creative in that regard,” Campbell said Tuesday. “He’s a grinder. He’s an unbelievable hard worker. Day of the game, same thing. He’s going into–you’re talking about four hours before the game, five hours—he’s going through all these tendencies, tendencies, tendencies, ideas he’s just trying to give. Ben may need these thoughts, so he’s got, ‘Hey, I think this is what he’s going to do. I’d do this. I think this is–’ So he was ready, man.”
Payton echoed those statements during his own press conference Tuesday.
“He’s super passionate and he works his tail off. He’s great with film study and ideas. He’s one of those guys that will bring you red zone, third down—like a lot of information,” Payton said.
He’ll continue to use those skills with the Lions, but with one more big difference: the amount of weapons at his disposal. Not many offensive coordinators get to lead an offense with arguably a top-five receiver (Amon-Ra St. Brown), tight end (Sam LaPorta), running back (Jahmyr Gibbs), center (Frank Ragnow), and offensive tackle (Penei Sewell).
“I’m like a kid in the candy store. I mean, it’s Christmas all over again,” Morton said. “But I love that part. I live for game planning. I mean, I love all the way up to the game. I think that’s the chess match. When the game starts, it’s a chess match, okay, but you gotta talk about those different scenarios when the game starts. But game planning, I just love that part. I mean, I’ll just stay all day, all night, and just—I’m always looking for that play to help us win the game.”