Lions head coach Dan Campbell indicated that changes may be coming in Detroit after the team was eliminated from the playoffs on Christmas.
“I’m gonna be looking at a lot,” Campbell said (via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic).“I’m gonna be looking at a lot of things, because I do not like being home for the playoffs.”
Among them could be a change at offensive coordinator. Pass game coordinator John Morton took over the job after Ben Johnson left in the offseason. He got the Lions offense off to a hot start before slowing around midseason. Campbell took over play-calling in Week 10 and the unit bounced back. However, they could not carry a decimated Detroit defense into the playoffs.
Though the offense finished fourth in points and sixth in yards, Campbell could still consider swapping out his offensive coordinator this offseason, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. That would indicate he wants to hand play-calling duties back to another coach, which could also be a factor in attracting the best candidates. While the Lions’ job would be a step up for any offensive assistant, the availability of play-calling duties could draw coordinators who work under offensive head coaches and do not call plays. Those coordinators could jump at the chance to work with the Lions’ talented roster and strengthen their candidacy for a future head coaching gig.
An obvious wellspring of potential OC talent is in Chicago, where Johnson has quickly developed one of the league’s top offenses. He brought multiple assistants with him from Detroit, including wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett. Bears OC Declan Doyle also worked with Campbell in New Orleans, though the Bears could block Doyle from interviewing for the same position with the Lions.
Of course, Morton still played a role in the Lions’ offensive success in the past three years and may be more comfortable calling plays after going through some bumps in his debut year. Campbell could also decide to hold onto play-calling duties and keep Morton to run the rest of the offense.
Detroit had the winning TD vs. Pittsburgh in the final minute called back for offensive pass interference, not once but twice. Then on Xmas Day the Lions had 6 giveaways at Minnesota.
Such is what will get your OC the sack.
Detroit’s had a ton of injuries, and I was (still am) rooting for Shepard, but I think that they might be looking at the wrong coordinator.
Nice if he took some responsibility for himself. Obviously he is not the genius his media buddies have tried to create; looks like Ben Johnson was the real genius
The Lions just want to show everyone that they can have a late season fade like the Tigers (who lost 13 of their last 16 regular season games).
More of that Dumb Jock Logic for the Deetroyt Sportsball Fan, I see.
Campbell needs good coordinators that are in control of all their duties. He needs to just be an uplifting HC for the players. That is what he is good at, he is not good at calling plays and his over aggressive style already cost them a trip to the SB a couple of years ago. He needs to look at each situation and sometimes you must take the points.
Crazy not giving the ball to Gibbs at the Pitts one yard line. That is on Campbell. The offensive line was bad against Minny. Outcoached two weeks in a row.
I think that was just Flores. He’s a chemist in the lab with defensive philosophy. Just like those Miami teams he had near the top of the league, I don’t think he’s ever had truly elite personnel to work with and has gotten blood out of turnips. If Minnesota built a defense for him like the personnel Houston has, I think they would be a serious Super Bowl contender, not just a paper tiger like the good teams O’Connell’s had that lose in the first round.
They literally had the best offense in the league when he took over play calling. At the end of the day, his in game decision making cost them more than any play calling. They’ve also always been a sloppy team even when they went 15-2. I can’t forget how they were struggling early last year with a hapless Cardinal team despite having a talent advantage at every position on the field. When the talent advantage diminishes like it did this year with flux on that line and so many injuries, you can’t overcome all of that sloppiness. That’s a direct reflection of him as the HC.
I’m not sure I’m following you… are you saying all of the injuries are a direct reflection of the HC? Help me understand what you mean.
They can take Patullo off our hands.
I live in Florida now but I’ll drive up to drop him off at the airport.
why did they let Engstrand leave w/ Glenn?
Because they didn’t promote him. You can’t hold back position guys from upward mobility. They can only decline them lateral moves.
he is OC of NYJ. they could have promoted him to OC in DET.
Yes they could have, but they couldn’t have had Morton and him is what I am saying. Not like the Jets offense looks good and stable.
I know. I’m like what exactly about that Jet offense you want some of?
Jets are dogging it today … horrid, but Glenn will flush this season down the toilet once he starts deciding who will be gone next year.
Sorry yeah Morton wasn’t on the staff last year. He was on prior so they could have easily promoted someone from within before they joined Ben or Glenn. They interviewed Fraley for the promotion.
Maybe Campbell and Morton are close from years on Payton’s staff.
Good question. The job should’ve been his.
He Better take a Look at his AGGRESSIVE APPROACH with going for it on 4th down even when a Field Goal is in range. Let’s start there.
This is the biggest problem. He’s still coaching like they’re that scrappy perenial loser franchise instead of one of the more talented rosters in the conference. He overcame it last year because they were that much better than everybody else. Now, this is coming back to bite them as the roster continues dissipating. They’ve already lost more than half of those players that made it to the NFC championship two years ago, and it’s only going to get worse.
How exactly did Morton play a role in the offensive success of the Lions the last three years??
He was a member of Sean Payton’s staff in Denver last year.
When the Lions put a 52 on the Bears week 2 there was a lot of stuff coming out of Detroit like who needs Ben Johnson. Among other comments. Just saying.
Morton seems to have interpersonal problems from all accounts, but the criticism of his actual play calling was overblown. The biggest issue was the dumb decisions Campbell makes every week like he’s still this scrappy upstart team. If he just called a game straight instead of going for it on his own 30 and dumb stuff like that week in, week out, they’d be in the playoffs right now. That and their defensive injuries for the second year in a row. They do have some long-term problems next year coming up with their defensive backfield and offensive line, which was one of the best in the league for a few years but is now decimated.