Latest news with #JohnMorton
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sean Payton comments on losing John Morton to Lions
The Denver Broncos lost nine staff members this offseason, including pass game coordinator John Morton. Morton, 55, joined the Broncos in 2023, right after a stint with the Detroit Lions. He left the Broncos this spring to rejoin the Lions as Detroit's new offensive coordinator. Advertisement 'Remember, he was there not too [long ago], two-and-a-half, three years ago," Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Morton in March. "Our industry is small, so all of these guys I feel like I've hired or got to work with, [like] Dan [Campbell]. So when Dan calls me on 'Johnny Mo' and he's going to be the play caller, I'm like, 'He'll be excited.' I'm excited for him. The terminology and the communication, all the things that Jared [Goff] knows, the system, that all stays cleanly intact. "Johnny is a tremendous worker. He'll be the last one out, first one in in the morning. I'm happy for not only Johnny, but there are a number of guys this year that just seemed to like multiply. It's good to see some of them here, like [Aaron] Glenn. It's good to see them in these positions because those guys obviously were loyal and worked extremely hard for me at one point. So it's good to see.' Payton later joked that it felt like every time he left town, the Broncos lost another coach this offseason. "So I started trying not to leave town," Payton quipped. Payton has since restocked Denver's coaching staff for the 2025 campaign. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans. This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL: Sean Payton reacts to losing John Morton to Lions
NBC Sports
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Lions OC John Morton says he's not changing much: "It's working, right?"
The Lions brought John Morton back to the franchise to replace the departed Ben Johnson as offensive coordinator for 2025. Morton had spent a year with Detroit under head coach Dan Campbell as the club's senior offensive assistant in 2022, so he's familiar with the scheme and personnel. Having ranked in the top five in points and yards in each of the last three seasons, Morton isn't trying to disturb the groove in his first season as OC. 'I mean, I'm not changing much,' Morton said in a Tuesday press conference, via Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press. 'Why? It's working, right? So that would be the smartest thing to do.' Detroit finished No. 1 in scoring for only the second time in franchise history and the first time since 1954 last year. So, it makes sense that Morton isn't trying to change the general scheme. But because he's not Johnson, there are things he'll inherently do differently. 'It's just about techniques and certain things, [like] how I talk, how I see it, how I'm teaching them the concepts. Why we're calling [a certain play],' Morton said. 'That might be something they've never heard before because I'm teaching everybody [the same way] you teach the quarterback. I think that's important. Like, why are we running this play? They should know.' But other than that, Morton wants to fit in with what has already been established. 'It's just me learning, that's the biggest thing,' Morton said. 'I mean, as a staff, as an offensive staff, we're doing this together. The only way to win a Super Bowl is if everybody's on the same page.'
NBC Sports
03-04-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Dan Campbell: "We'll be fine" with new offensive and defensive coordinators
Lions head coach Dan Campbell lost both of his coordinators this offseason, with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson becoming head coach of the Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn becoming head coach of the Jets. But Campbell is not concerned. Campbell acknowledged at the league meeting that 'continuity is always good' but also said he's confident that the Lions can adjust. 'We'll be fine. We'll be fine,' Campbell said. 'Everybody knows how I feel bout these coaches that have been here and been part of this. I'm happy for them. They're moving on and I wish them the best.' Campbell hired John Morton, who was his assistant in Detroit in 2022 and then was the Broncos' pass game coordinator in 2023 and 2024, to become the Lions' new offensive coordinator. And Campbell promoted Kelvin Sheppard from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator. 'John Morton stepping in as offensive coordinator, somebody I trust, I've been around, he was here when we built this thing back up in '22,' Campbell said. 'And then Kelvin Sheppard's been here, man. It's not like we'll be starting from scratch with somebody I don't know.' Campbell said he actually thinks the Lions might have some new wrinkles that help the team continue to build toward their ultimate goal of the Super Bowl. 'It'll be kind of fresh and new, actually, and I think we're all excited about that.'
NBC Sports
18-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard: It starts with toughness in the trenches
The Lions' new offensive coordinator John Morton said this week that everything the team will do on offense starts with quarterback Jared Goff and their new defensive coordinator shared his building blocks as well. Kelvin Sheppard was the team's linebackers coach before being promoted to take over for Aaron Glenn and he said to Dan Miller of CBS 2 in Detroit that one of the challenges of his new job is 'not trying to put everything around the linebackers.' Sheppard said that the priority will be on the front line of the defense and cited this year's Super Bowl champion Eagles as an example of what kind of play you need on the defensive line. 'Everything you do on defense starts with the front,' Sheppard said. 'Just look at the final guys in the championship game. And everybody knows. This is not [like] I'm telling some secret. It starts with the trenches in both the run and pass game. Everybody is so pass-happy nowadays, but if you really watch these games, it's a lot of people going back to the roots of football, and that's toughness in the trenches. You better have that. It starts there. I always say, 'You have to earn the right to rush the passer.' It doesn't matter if you can get off the ball and be this glorified pass-rushing type player if you don't earn the right to get to those pass-rushing downs. So, just making sure we find that fine balance in guys that can play the run and the pass, and making sure they gel with who we want to be because that supersedes everything.' The Lions never got a chance to play the Eagles in the playoffs because they stumbled against the Commanders in the divisional round. If they get the chance in 2025, Sheppard wants them to fight fire with fire.
USA Today
18-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Lions announce full coaching staff for 2025 with several new hires
With a week to go before the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, the Detroit Lions have formally finalized their coaching staff for the coming season. The Lions updated coaching list includes several names not previously publicly reported. First, the full list from the Lions press release: Among the coaches new to Detroit are offensive coordinator John Morton and defensive line coach/run game coordinator Kacy Rodgers, plus tight ends coach Tyler Roehl, running backs coach Tashard Choice, and offensive assistant Bruce Gradkowski. Some recent additions that haven't been widely reported or confirmed before this press release include offensive assistant Marques Tuiasosopo, offensive quality control coach Justin Mesa and defensive assistants August Mangin and Caleb Collins. Tuiasosopo effectively fills the vacancy created when J.T. Barrett left with former OC Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears. The former UCLA quarterback has been coaching various offensive positions for over a decade, including work with the Rice QBs for the last few seasons. Mesa has worked with wide receivers, tight ends and special teams at Washington State for the last four years and has also served as a high school head coach. Collins is an outside LB coach, where he's worked at Baylor since 2020. He's a former college LB himself. Mangin comes from the San Francisco 49ers and has primarily worked with special teams and game management in his four years with San Francisco. He was a college teammate of DC Kelvin Sheppard at LSU.
