The Detroit Lions have decided to hire Denver Broncos assistant John Morton as offensive coordinator and elevate Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The source spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the deals had not yet been made public.
Detroit lost both of its coordinators to head coaching jobs.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears, while defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn took over the New York Jets, just days after the NFC’s top-seeded Lions were upset by sixth-seeded Washington in the divisional round.
Johnson and Glenn are both finalists for The Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.
AP Coach of the Year finalist Dan Campbell said he anticipated both coordinators would leave even before they secured head coaching positions.
Campbell mentioned that quarterback Jared Goff would have some input in selecting the new offensive coordinator and expressed confidence that the Pro Bowler would continue performing well even without Johnson calling plays.
“This system is designed for Goff to thrive with our playmakers,” Campbell said last week.
Goff already has a connection with Morton, who was a senior offensive assistant for the Lions in 2022.
“I want to maintain our terminology,” Campbell said before finalizing Morton’s hiring. “I want Goff to remain comfortable since he’s playing at a high level.”
Detroit’s players are already familiar with Sheppard.
He coached the team’s linebackers for the last three seasons after handling outside linebackers in 2021.
Sheppard, a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was a third-round pick out of LSU by the Buffalo Bills in 2011 and recorded 429 tackles over 107 career games.
Campbell gave Sheppard his first coaching opportunity after he worked as LSU’s director of player development in 2020.
The Broncos brought Morton in from Detroit in 2023, and he spent two seasons as their passing game coordinator.
He has over 20 years of coaching experience with Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, the New York Jets, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
Morton, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs, was an All-Mid-American Conference wide receiver at Western Michigan.
