The Detroit Lions were able to hold onto offensive coordinator Ben Johnson last offseason after he received interest from teams in need of a head coach. Detroit wasn’t so lucky this time around, as Johnson accepted the Chicago Bears’ job.
The Lions responded to that loss by hiring Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton, who was a senior offensive assistant with Detroit in 2022, to replace Johnson. While at the Pro Bowl over the weekend, Lions quarterback Jared Goff spoke with SiriusXM NFL Radio about his new offensive play-caller.
“We were together in 2022,” Goff said about Morton, as shared by Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “He was an assistant on our staff and has done it before, has been a coordinator before. Has a lot of experience in our league, been around a lot of great coaches. I’m excited to work with him and see where we can go.”
While it’s understandable Goff likes that the Lions chose somebody familiar with the offense he’s run during his time with the organization, the fact remains that Morton has massive shoes to fill. Thanks to the success Goff enjoyed while working with Johnson, the 30-year-old signed a four-year contract extension last spring that included $170M guaranteed and could be worth up to $212M. Goff then became a finalist for the 2024 Most Valuable Player Award.
Per Pro Football Reference, Goff ranked second in the league with a 72.4 percent completion percentage, second with an average of 272.3 passing yards per game, fourth with 37 passing touchdowns and second with a 111.8 passer rating.
“He’s a guy that’s made a ton of difference in my career,” Goff said about Johnson. “I’m obviously a big fan of his. I was joking with him, I wish he didn’t have to be in our division so I didn’t have to try to beat him twice a year. But he’s going to do a great job. Hopefully not too good, though, with us being in the division together still. But I’ll always be a fan of his and we’ll always have a good relationship.”
As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Lions fifth among the betting favorites at +950 odds to win Super Bowl LX next February. Johnson will try to keep Detroit from accomplishing that goal in a job he hopes to have for the foreseeable future.
