ALLEN PARK — Dan Campbell’s first attempt at play-calling since the 2021 season was a rousing success.
Naturally, one would assume the Lions’ coach would ride the wave of Sunday’s 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium and indefinitely name himself the offensive playcaller. While he did say Monday that he’ll be calling plays for Detroit’s next matchup, a primetime game against the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday, he suggested offensive coordinator John Morton eventually could return to that role.
The primary issue that caused Campbell to take the reins, he said Sunday, was a disconnect between how he envisioned the offense functioning versus how it actually looked on the field. If this disconnect gets sorted, it’s possible Campbell will restore the responsibilities to Morton.
“Yeah, who knows?” Campbell said when asked if Morton could, in theory, be calling plays as the offensive coordinator a year from now. “Maybe sooner. We’ll see.”
After eight games, one would think that if the disconnect was ever going to be fixed, it would have been by now. But Campbell cited the evolution of his relationship with former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as an example of how those gaps can be bridged over time.
Johnson was the tight ends coach in 2021, when the Lions hired Campbell as the head coach and Anthony Lynn as the offensive coordinator. Lynn was stripped of his play-calling duties after the team started 0-8, and Campbell took it over the rest of the way before parting ways with Lynn at season’s end. The Lions’ offense clicked under Campbell to close the 2021 season and exploded under Johnson when he was named offensive coordinator the following season.
According to Campbell, a significant reason why Johnson’s offense was successful from the start was that Johnson had undergone a crash course in Campbell’s offensive scheme the previous year. He believes that continuing the staff’s collaborative approach while taking over play-calling in the meantime could result in Morton developing enough familiarity with Campbell’s desires to take the job over again.
“(Johnson) helped me. He watched, he learned, he saw how I ran it and how I wanted to run it, what I was looking for, and then it evolved. He evolved it from there,” Campbell said. “He took it and knew exactly what I wanted. By the middle of 2022, I didn’t have to say a word.
“That’s kind of where John is right now, that’s all. … Sometimes, that’s the best way to really know what somebody is looking for (is) just going through that. I just feel like it’s the right thing to do right now.”
The Lions were a true juggernaut Sunday, scoring on every offensive possession except the final one, which ended in kneel-downs. They recorded season-highs in yardage (546) and first downs (30) and yards per rushing attempt (6.8) while going 5-for-10 on third down.
In the blink of an eye, all of the Lions’ offensive problems seemed to have disappeared. Of course, that’s not actually the case: Washington’s defense has been trampled on for most of this season, and the Lions have had prolific games with Morton calling the shots.
There’s a non-zero chance that Detroit’s offense regresses to its previous form in Sunday’s game against Philadelphia, even with Campbell on the headset.
Ultimately, his No. 1 goal is to ensure that every staff member and player maximizes their potential. And if that means Campbell continues calling plays, so be it. If that eventually means going back to Morton as the play caller, that’s what he’ll do.
“You’re trying to put together the best team that you can because they all have strengths, and then you play to those strengths. Whatever this player’s strength is, it can cover up for this other player’s deficiency, and vice versa,” Campbell said.
“I think that is how the whole organization works. I think that’s the coaching staff on, in all three phases. Sometimes, you’ve just got to move some things around. You’ve got the right people, it’s just about putting people in different spots and all of a sudden, man, everything, you click, and it just .. .fit right in place, and then you’re humming.
“I think that’s some of it. There again, we’ve got the right staff, we’ve got the right players. Yesterday was a step in the right direction.”
The Lions won’t have to wait long to learn whether Sunday’s output was the result of a well-timed change or a well-timed opponent. Philadelphia’s defense ranks in the top half of the league in points allowed (23.1, 15th) and expected points added (EPA) per play (-0.06, 13th).