Ben Johnson wanted Lions’ offensive coordinator John Morton to join the Bears’ coaching staff, others wanted him too
Everyone wanted Morton
When Ben Johnson left the Detroit Lions to become the new head coach of the Chicago Bears this offseason, the big question for the Lions was: Who would Dan Campbell hire to replace him?
There were a lot of names flying around, and some thought they would promote Tanner Engstrand, and others wanted a well-known name like Klint Kubiak, who took the OC job for the Seattle Seahawks. The Lions hired Denver Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton.
Lions weren’t the only team interested in hiring John Morton
Excitement was not the initial response to this move. A lot of fans didn’t know who he was, and then they learned that he had been an OC for the New York Jets and that it didn’t work out. There were concerns. However, the fact is that Morton had been with the Lions before, and he played a significant role in helping Johnson establish what we now know as the Lions offense. He left such an indelible mark that when Campbell was trying to hire Morton, Johnson was also at the same time, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
On top of Johnson trying to get Morton to Chicago, Sean Payton and the Broncos were trying to get him to stay. So all at the same time, the Lions, Bears, and Broncos wanted him. That’s not bad for a guy who some fans were worried was an underwhelming hire.
There’s no word as to what job Morton would have had with the Bears, but the Lions hired Morton in the same time frame the Bears hired Declan Doyle, so maybe Morton would have been the Bears’ OC. As for the Broncos, he would have likely stayed in that same job.
If you were Morton, what job would you have taken? Working with Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Sam LaPorta, and Penei Sewell is personally the job I would have taken.
