This season, the Detroit Lions accomplished incredible feats under Ben Johnson’s leadership. They led the NFL with 564 points, setting a team record and ranking fourth in league history. They tallied 70 touchdowns, another franchise record that tied for fourth in league history.
Their running backs combined for nearly 3,000 scrimmage yards and 30 touchdowns, a level of output not seen in the NFL since someone named LaDainian Tomlinson ran around the Chargers’ backfield in 2006. Oh, and Johnson also spearheaded the single most crucial aspect of the Lions’ turnaround. He restored Jared Goff’s career, which had gone into a spiral under Sean McVay and was about to hit the side of the mountain under Anthony Lynn.
So, no pressure, John Morton. I’m confident you’ll excel as Johnson’s replacement. I’m not sure about that at all. Nobody is. Morton, 55, is a seasoned assistant coach with limited experience as an offensive coordinator. On the surface, it appears that the primary reason Dan Campbell recruited Morton was his familiarity with him.
Morton was a senior offensive assistant for the Lions in 2022, a role Campbell described as “pivotal” in the most pivotal year of his tenure when he promoted Johnson but was so unsure of how things would play out that he didn’t officially identify Johnson the playcaller until the season began.
If Johnson had faltered and the Lions had failed to win in 2022, Campbell’s career could have ended, especially given Aaron Glenn’s defense was poor for the second year in row. But Johnson saved the Lions, and most likely Campbell’s job, and Morton was thought to have played a key role in their victory. Jon Gruden, Morton’s former Raiders boss, recently told the Free Press that Morton was “one of the masterminds” behind Johnson’s broad and multifaceted strategy that year.
Undoubtedly, Morton’s knowledge and working relationship with Goff had a role in his employment. Campbell stated that he sought his quarterback’s opinion on the job, and Morton’s established rapport with Goff could be one of his strongest assets.
That alone is enough to assume Morton will succeed and keep the offense producing yards and points. Another factor is Campbell’s capacity to learn from his mistakes, as well as his pledge to keep an eye on the offense and avoid too much disruption, which he addressed last week when I asked him what he learned from Lynn’s failed hiring that he could apply to choosing his next OC.
“I’m going to be involved no matter what,” he said, “because I believe it’s best for our offense and Goff. This is set up for Goff to succeed with our playmakers, (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, our running backs, the offensive line, and the entire team, (Jameson Williams).
“So I’d like to maintain that in place. I want to maintain our language in place. And I want to make sure Goff is comfortable because he is playing at a high level.” Campbell understands that the quarterback is the most important player on any team. The good ones are incredibly difficult to find. Once you have one, you must encourage and nurture him.
The question is: how much autonomy will Morton have? Are the Lions just going to do a simple system update and install Ben Johnson 2.0? If it was that simple, everyone would do it. To me, it’s like attempting to perform “Hamlet” without Hamlet. Morton will need to strike a difficult balance here. How much can he be himself and implement his own vision and ideas without always receiving criticism from Campbell and Goff and hearing “that’s not how we’ve done it.”
Since Johnson and Glenn departed town, the recurrent question I’ve received from friends and fans has been, “Are the Lions going to be OK?” Here’s the answer: yes. Especially on offense, since Campbell will not repeat his error with Lynn. He will not allow a problem to escalate into a crisis.
However, the attack will not be as successful as it was under Johnson. That doesn’t mean the Lions won’t be as good as they were this season, because if the defense has better health luck and plays complementary football, there could be a difference between Lions fans watching this year’s Super Bowl on their couch and next year’s from their seats at Levi’s Stadium in California.
And wouldn’t that be even more remarkable than witnessing Johnson’s incredible feats?
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