The Lions' coordinators conversation: What do their futures look like?
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Colton Pouncy
John Morton lost his play-calling responsibilities with Detroit, and Kelvin Sheppard's defense struggled in the back half of the season.
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions are about to enter a crucial offseason. Kelvin Sheppard and John Morton find themselves at the forefront of decisions that will undoubtedly affect how we view the team in 2026.
And on Thursday, the first day of the new year, the Lions defensive and offensive coordinators were on hand for a conversation about what went wrong and what their futures might hold.
Let’s dive in.
Morton wants to return in 2026
When Dan Campbell hired Morton, the fit made sense on paper. Morton has worked with some of the best coaches in the game. He owns a reputation as a grinder. He’s coached with Campbell and was here in 2022 when Ben Johnson took over as OC. And while Detroit’s offense averaged just under 30 points per game when Morton called plays, Campbell felt a sense of urgency, and ultimately took over play-calling responsibilities in Week 10. He said he’d be in that role for the rest of the season.
Clock’s ticking.
What Campbell does with Morton figures to have a trickle-down effect on the offense, one way or another. If Morton is relieved of his duties, Campbell will be in the market for a new coordinator. It would be Jared Goff’s third in as many years. That move alone would have a chance to reshape the offense, depending on the background of the new coordinator. But if Campbell runs it back with Morton — a move that would likely signal an admission that the offensive line execution was a bigger problem than the play calling — it’ll be fascinating to see how the move would be handled internally and perceived externally.
John Morton was an offensive assistant with the Lions in 2022, then spent two years as the Broncos’ passing game coordinator before returning to Detroit. (Junfu Han / Imagn Images)
“I’d like to be here,” Morton said Thursday. “I love it here. I love Dan, I love the organization, it’s my home. All I’m thinking about is just Chicago right now. And whatever happens, happens. Listen, I’ve been in this business for a while, so I’m proud of the things I’ve done, and there are a lot of things that I’ve got to improve on. And so, whatever happens, happens. But listen, my main focus is just Chicago right now. That’s all I’m thinking about and that’s all I ever do. I live in the moment, I always have. And then whatever happens, I just march on, just like I always have. That’s my attitude with everything.”
On one hand, Morton’s comments earlier this year — indicating the offensive line needs to play better — were not wrong. The Lions have allowed an average time to pressure of 2.50 seconds — second-fastest in the NFL. They most recently allowed five sacks in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, as their quarterback ran for his life and fumbled the game away. The Lions have struggled to run the ball consistently, too. They rank 27th in offensive rushing success rate. It’s the first time they’ve ranked outside the top five since 2022, and would mark the lowest ranking of the Campbell era. A lot of the offensive issues can be traced back to an offensive line that wasn’t ready for transition.
At the same time, how many OCs are stripped of play-calling responsibilities and return the next season? Even if Morton and Campbell make it work, there were moments where the play calling was either too stubborn or too slow to adjust. That’s where an outside voice might come in handy, considering Campbell has a tendency to will things into existence as a play caller, and Morton hasn’t been a play caller for the majority of his career.
Morton would like to be back — in whatever capacity. But that decision is up to Campbell.
“Listen, I told you guys before, I’m a team player,” Morton said. “I’ll do whatever it takes, at this point in my career. Whatever Dan wants, I do. So, I’m here to help him help this team win and that’s what I’ve done. I’m proud of some of the work that I’ve done, obviously. So, that’s kind of where I’m at with that.”
Sheppard doesn’t see drastic changes, but changes likely coming
When you’re asked a direct question in a press setting, it’s natural to use the words asked to you in your answer. So, let’s discuss an interaction Sheppard had Thursday.
Question: Why do you still believe that your scheme gives this team the best chance to win, and when you kind of look at it yourself, is there room for potentially drastic changes to the defense next year?
Sheppard: “No, I don’t see drastic change.”
That’s a quote that, on its own, is sure to spark headlines. There was more to those comments, but first, let’s take a look at how we got here.
Sheppard was hired here years ago because of his relationship with Campbell, which dates back to their days together with the Miami Dolphins. Both Campbell and former DC Aaron Glenn said Sheppard was being trained for his current role years prior. They felt he was a natural successor, and something Campbell said last January was that he wanted a continuation of Detroit’s man-heavy system. Sheppard has continued it, but with varying success.
In the first half of the season, the defense looked like it had taken a step forward. Ahead of their Week 8 bye, the Lions ranked eighth in yards allowed per play (5.0) and total defense (300.0). They recorded the second-best three-and-out rate in the NFL at 41.3 percent. They ranked 12th in points per game allowed (21.6). They were tied for third in takeaways and seventh in defensive success rate at 61.9 percent. And 25.9 percent of the plays they defended had gone for zero or negative yards — second-highest in the league. Things fell apart from there.
The defense wasn’t able to generate turnovers at the same pace. From Weeks 1-9, the Lions ranked fifth in takeaways with 11, but since then, they rank 23rd with just seven. Explosive pass plays became a major issue. From Weeks 1-9, the Lions allowed 23 completions of 20 or more yards (23rd in the NFL). From Weeks 9-17, that number rose to 43 — the second-most during that span. The one thing this unit could hang its hat on was its run defense. It’s been a staple of this system over the years. But Detroit’s defensive rushing success rate fell from seventh to 18th in the second half. In fact, the Lions were seventh entering Week 15 — the week after Brian Branch went down. They’ve been 31st since his injury.
It really is a tale of two halves, which is why Sheppard doesn’t see drastic changes on the horizon. Keyword: drastic.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be changes coming. Quite frankly, some change is needed. The Lions could use personnel upgrades — more speed and better athletes, particularly in the front seven. The Lions have recorded the fifth-slowest average time to pressure at 2.86 seconds, per Next Gen Stats. They run a scheme that is heavily dependent on corners who can hold their own in man coverage and safeties who specialize in different aspects and balance out one another. But when the secondary can’t stay healthy for a full season, it asks so much of reserves who aren’t equipped to handle a starter’s workload. It made the initial question a fair one.
“This league is about adaptability,” Sheppard said. “You can have a system all you want, but it’s whatever (that week) dictates is necessary to win the football game, and that’s predicated on a lot of different variables. You talk about the offense that you’re facing, you’re talking about the personnel that’s at your disposal that week. It’s a lot of different variables. … I believe we have a very versatile system here where we’re able to adapt and adjust on the run. … I’m not going to sit up here and say there needs to be a drastic change and this didn’t work, that didn’t work. There were weeks we played at a high level with the exact same system, and there was weeks that we didn’t. And after this game, we’ll go back and look at that in totality and find out the real whys behind that.”
The growing pains have been understandable for a rookie DC. It doesn’t seem like Campbell is the type of coach to pull the plug on a trusted assistant like Sheppard after just one season. If they bring him back, maybe the Lions should target a senior defensive assistant — like, Chuck Pagano — to help Sheppard on the back end, the way Dom Capers helped Glenn.
That said, Campbell had a chance to put any thoughts about Sheppard’s future to rest on Detroit’s 97.1 The Ticket earlier this week.
“Listen, I’m not anywhere yet,” Campbell said. “I got one game left here. I’m not about to start going through what I’m gonna do here, there, I’m not.”
If the Lions move on from Sheppard, you have to think it’s because Campbell believes the defense is in need of a scheme overhaul after so many years of running a man-heavy system. It would show a clear sense of urgency, but is Campbell willing to lose a young coach like Sheppard, when there were times the defense looked like it was turning a corner?
