John Morton, who was relieved of his play-calling duties eight games into his first season as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator, was fired on Tuesday.
The Lions announced they had “parted ways” with Morton, 56, after finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs in a season with championship expectations.
Morton replaced Ben Johnson, who left to be the Chicago Bears’ head coach after guiding the Lions to spectacular offensive numbers in 2024.
Under Johnson, Detroit boasted the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense (33.2 points per game) and finished second in total offense (409.5 yards per game) in 2024. Detroit’s points (564) and regular-season wins (15) that year were franchise records.
Head coach Dan Campbell took over as offensive play-caller for the Lions this season after a 27-24 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 2 dropped the team to 5-3. Detroit beat the host Washington Commanders 44-22 on Nov. 9.
At the end of the 2025 regular season, the Lions ranked fifth in the league in total offense (373.2 yards per game), third in passing (253.1) and 14th in rushing (120.1). Detroit was tied for fourth with the Buffalo Bills at 28.3 points per game.
Morton returned to the organization after a two-year stint as the pass game coordinator in Denver, where in 2024 the Broncos finished 20th in the NFL in pass offense (212.4) and averaged 25.0 points per game.
He spent the 2022 season with the Lions as a senior offensive assistant before joining the Broncos in 2023. The Michigan native previously worked with Detroit quarterback Jared Goff during Johnson’s first season as offensive coordinator.
