Sam LaPorta on Lions New OC John Morton: He's a 'Brilliant Mind'

Following a 15-2 season that ended in ruins, which was a loss at home to the Washington Commanders in the NFC divisional round following a first-round bye, the Detroit Lions‘ coaching staff was raided.

Among the outgoing faces was offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who became the new head coach of the Chicago Bears. To replace Johnson, the Lions brought in Denver Broncos passing game coordinator John Morton to be their new offensive coordinator.

One of Morton’s top players, tight end Sam LaPorta, is a huge fan.

“[Our offense] might be a little bit different. Fortunately, we kept a couple of our position coaches, specifically, our offensive line coach [Hank Fraley],” LaPorta said about Detroit’s new coaching staff in an interview on “The Jim Rome Show.” “We promoted Hank Fraley to our run game coordinator. So, fortunate for me, we have the same run game system this year, the same verbiage, which, as you can imagine, is a lot. But Johnny Mo, pass game coordinator his entire life. Brilliant mind, I think he’s gonna call the offense great.”

Prior to his two-year stint in Denver under head coach Sean Payton (2023-24), Morton was a senior offensive assistant with the Lions for the 2022 season. He held the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders from 2019-21 and was the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets in 2017, preceded by several other assistant coaching stints. 

As for LaPorta, a Pro Bowler in his 2023 rookie campaign, the tight end totaled 60 receptions for 726 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He ranked sixth among tight ends with a 79.1 receiving grade and 10th with a 73.8 overall grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

Last season, Detroit’s offense was arguably the best in the sport, as the Lions were first in the NFL with 33.2 points per game, second with both 263.2 passing yards and 409.5 total yards and sixth with 146.4 rushing yards. Five of Detroit’s 11 offensive starters were initially invited to the 2025 Pro Bowl Games: quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, tackle Penei Sewell and center Frank Ragnow.

As for other departing coaches, the Lions lost defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who became the head coach of the New York Jets, while defensive line coach Terrell Williams left to be the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. Meanwhile, the Lions lost passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand, who became the offensive coordinator for the Jets under Glenn, and wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and assistant quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett each followed Johnson to the Bears.

This will be Morton’s second NFL offensive coordinator gig, previously holding the same role for the Jets in 2017.

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