The Detroit Lions have reached an agreement to hire Denver Broncos assistant John Morton as their new offensive coordinator and promote Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator, according to an anonymous source.
The source shared the information with The Associated Press on Tuesday night, as the deals had not yet been officially announced.
The Lions recently lost both coordinators to head coaching positions. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears, while defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn accepted the New York Jets head coaching job. This came just days after the Lions were unexpectedly defeated by the Washington Commanders in the NFC divisional round.
Johnson and Glenn are finalists for The Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Dan Campbell, a Coach of the Year finalist, anticipated the departure of both coordinators even before they were hired.
Campbell mentioned that quarterback Jared Goff would have a role in choosing the new offensive coordinator and emphasized that Goff’s high level of play should not be hindered by the change in playcalling.
Goff has prior experience with Morton, having worked with him as a senior offensive assistant for the Lions in 2022.
“I want to maintain our terminology,” Campbell said ahead of Morton’s hiring. “I want to ensure that Goff remains comfortable as he’s playing at a high level.”
Sheppard is well known by the Lions players, having coached their linebackers for the last three seasons and previously worked with outside linebackers in 2021.
A Georgia native, Sheppard was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Over his 107-game career, he recorded 429 tackles.
Campbell gave Sheppard his coaching opportunity after he served as LSU’s director of player development in 2020.
Morton was hired by the Broncos in 2023, after leaving Detroit. He served as their passing game coordinator for two seasons. Morton has over 20 years of coaching experience with various teams, including Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, the New York Jets, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
A Detroit native, Morton was a standout wide receiver at Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference.
