ALLEN PARK -- In his first time speaking since losing play-calling duties, John Morton said he didn’t blink twice and fully supports Dan Campbell.
Morton said he always expects the unexpected in the NFL, and that he’s worked with an offensive-minded head coach before, so he took it in stride.
“But I fully support it,” the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator said. “I feel very prideful of the things that I was doing. There are some things that I’ve got to learn. No doubt. Just like everybody else. Listen, I want to do whatever it takes to win. As soon as he (Campbell) said it, I’m like, ‘All right, let’s go. What do we got to do?’ That’s the way I’ve always been in this business.
“I’ve been cut six times. I’ve been fired. Man, you just march on. It’s always about the team. It always is. It ain’t about me or goals and this and that. No, the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl. I didn’t even blink twice. I know my role here. The only thing that’s changed is that he’s calling it on game day.”
Morton said everything outside of Campbell calling the offense remains the same. He’s there to help Campbell with the passing game, and will continue to approach the week like he’s calling plays because that’s they way he’s always done it in his near 30 years of coaching.
The first-year offensive coordinator called the offense through the team’s first eight games. But after a couple of ho-hum weeks lacking explosive plays while the third-down struggles piled up, Campbell took the keys to the offense in Week 10.
The Lions responded with a 44-point, 500-yard showing where they scored on all eight possessions against the Washington Commanders. Players and coaches spoke about the improved flow of the game, and Morton took note of that as he looks inward.
The offense lined up under center more than they had this season. There was an even split between running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, with more motion and utilizing their beloved heavy-set formations with a hint of creativity.
“You get in a flow -- there was a good flow last week. The players felt it, too,” Morton said. “Getting the feel of how he does things, how they’ve done it here, and that’s good. I need to see that. I’m helping him with things that he doesn’t -- because he hasn’t called plays a lot, and neither have I. But I tell you what, the collaboration that we have, we always have great communication, every day, we always talk. That’s been great. It’s been great.
“I just move forward. I just want to win. I’ll do whatever it takes to help this team. I have a role. I know what it is. If he wants me to be ready again, I’ll be ready. That’s the way I approach it. I’ve always approached every game -- I’ve helped coach (Sean) Payton on game day, (longtime NFL coach) Jon Gruden, I’ve helped him on game day. I’ve always approached the game like I’m calling it.”
Campbell left the door cracked for Morton to reclaim the role of calling the plays. When he was asked about the possibility of Morton taking back over next year, he said, “Maybe sooner. We’ll see.”
The Lions coach compared Morton’s situation to what Ben Johnson went through when he took over calling plays in the middle of the 2021 campaign. Campbell will call the plays once again against the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend, but he’s keeping an open mind about how it goes and how the staff responds to him delegating more to make time.
“But he watched, he learned, he saw how I ran it, how I wanted to run it, what I was looking for,” Campbell said. “And then he evolved it from there. He took it, he knew exactly what I wanted, and by the middle of ’22, I didn’t have to say a word.
“That’s kind of where John (Morton) is right now, that’s all. It’s good. And sometimes that’s the best way to really know what somebody’s looking for is just going through that.”
Morton said one of the things he’s taking note from last week is how certain calls set up other ones, and how the Lions mastered sequential play-calling in recent years. He said he tried to do that, but he got a glimpse of what that looks like, and “that’s the biggest thing I caught from it.”
He remains in constant communication with Campbell and quarterback Jared Goff, because, as Campbell and Morton said, the offensive coordinator remains intricately involved with the passing game.
“You saw it last week. I mean, for one series, we had all first downs. First, second, it wasn’t even that, I don’t even know what it was, might have been Tecmo,” Morton said. “You can feel it. -- We had those moments this year, but it’s just like everything was clicking last week. I just that was really cool seeing that. The players feed off of that.
“That’s the thing I’m learning from it. When I was calling it, and I’m like, ‘OK, you want this or you want that,’ so I’m waiting at times for a call. Now, Dan’s just calling it, and then he’ll say, ‘Get me a pass, what are you thinking?’ And boom, I’m ready. During the game, I’m ready. Whatever the down and distance is. I’m ready for the pass, as soon as he says it, I’m giving it to him.”
When asked how he remains so positive and supportive about a public demotion, Morton said he approaches it from the stance of:
“I was a starter, now I’m not. What do I need to do to be a starter again? That’s what we do.”
He noted that the Lions don’t hire or draft quitters or those who sulk and make it about them and not the team. Morton embraces that mantra and is using it to get him through this time while making it all about the team and how he and they improve.
“I’m gonna do whatever it takes. And why mope around so players can see that?” Morton said. “What good does that do to me? That’s the way I’ve been taught, just growing up, and the coaches that I’ve been around. You always be positive, you know, you do whatever it takes to win the game and to prepare the team. That’s what I’m still doing. Because then it’s about me. If I mope around and players see that, I’ll never do that. Never.
“My dad worked for GM for 30-something years. I saw him work on the assembly line forever. That’s all I know ... What do I gotta do to get better? That’s the way you approach it. That’s the way we tell our players. Player loses their starting position. What is he gonna do? Is he just gonna walk around, quit? No, he’s not ... We hire guys that are fighters and we’ll do whatever it takes.”
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