Lions fire offensive coordinator John Morton after one season

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The Lions are moving on from Ben Johnson’s replacement.

Two days after defeating Johnson’s Chicago Bears in Week 18, Detroit fired offensive coordinator John Morton on Tuesday, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported.

The team later announced it had “parted ways” with Morton.

Morton was tabbed to fill the void left by Johnson when the former Lions OC left to take the top job in Chicago this past offseason, but he didn’t retain play-calling duties for even one full season. Lions coach Dan Campbell took the responsibility from Morton prior to their Week 10 win over Washington, an explosive, lopsided triumph that appeared to instantly justify Campbell’s decision.

At the time, Morton backed Campbell in his decision, telling reporters “I fully support it. … I want to do whatever it takes to win.”

In the end, however, Morton met the same fate as the last offensive coordinator to surrender play-calling duties to Campbell, Anthony Lynn, who gave up the responsibility in the 2021 season and parted with the Lions at the end of the campaign.

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With Morton at the controls, Detroit posted a 5-3 record, averaged 28.8 offensive points per game and 350.8 yards per game. Once Campbell took over — a period that included increased instability up front due to injury-related changes along the offensive line — the Lions went 4-5, averaged nearly two fewer offensive points per game (26.9), but bumped up their yardage average to 393.1, per NFL Research.

Jared Goff‘s performance varied, too, but not in the fashion Lions fans would have liked. His completion percentage dropped by nearly 10 percentage points, he threw the same number of touchdowns (17) but two more interceptions (5) and his passer rating subsequently dropped from 115.2 to 98.6. Much of these declines could also be blamed on Detroit’s fading running game, once a hallmark of the Lions’ offensive operation that devolved into only a mild threat to opposing defenses.

Ultimately, the change didn’t make the difference Campbell was seeking. With a struggling offensive line holding them back, the Lions struggled to build momentum toward a late-season playoff push, finishing 9-8 and out of the postseason. Their season-long totals dropped from landing in the top four in points per game (ranked first), points per drive (first), third-down percentage (fourth) and total yards per game (second) in 2024 to finishing second, seventh, 20th and fifth in 2025.

Following the Week 18 win, Campbell was brutally honest with himself, telling reporters he graded himself “a freaking F” for the job he did with his team in 2025.

“We’ve got nobody to blame but ourselves. But I really don’t believe we’re that far off,” Campbell explained before foreshadowing Tuesday’s staff move. “There’s a couple of things we can do, and I just want to make sure we go after it. I’m not saying we weren’t hungry, but let’s get that hunger back and we’re going to bring in some guys to compete.”

Add a new offensive coordinator to the list of competitors Campbell is seeking in 2026.

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