Tag: John Morton

John Morton joins Broncos with 20 years of coaching experience in the NFL

Broncos new passing game coordinator John Morton has 20 years of coaching experience in the NFL, including a stint as an OC.

In addition to bringing in Davis Webb as their new quarterbacks coach, the Denver Broncos will also have a new passing game coordinator in 2023.

John Morton, 53, joined the team earlier this month. He arrives in Denver with 20 years of NFL coaching experience on his resume.

Before transitioning to coaching, Morton spent time with the Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars in between stops in the CFL and NFL Europe as a wide receiver. After a five-year career as a player from 1993-1997, Morton switched to coaching in 1998.

He started out as an offensive assistant with the Raiders and after three promotions served as tight ends coach in 2004. After that, he spent one year as a passing game/wide receivers coach at the University of San Diego before joining Sean Payton‘s staff as a passing game coordinator/Offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints in 2006.

Morton then spent four years at USC before returning to the NFL as a WRs coach with the San Francisco 49ers. After four years in San Francisco, Morton served as a WRs coach under Payton again in New Orleans from 2015-2016.

Morton then landed an offensive coordinator job with the New York Jets in 2017, but that only lasted one season. From there, he served as a senior offensive assistant with the Raiders (2019-2021) and Detroit Lions (2022) before reuniting with Payton for a third time, now in Denver.

Morton has an impressive resume for a passing game coordinator, and he’ll aim to help the Broncos get their passing game back on track this fall.

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Broncos hire Lions assistant coach John Morton as their new passing game coordinator

Broncos hire Lions senior offensive assistant coach John Morton as their new passing game coordinator under new head coach Sean Payton

There is another opening of the Detroit Lions coaching staff now that the Denver Broncos have fleshed out new head coach Sean Payton’s initial coaching lineup. The Broncos have hired Lions senior offensive assistant John Morton as the new passing game coordinator in Denver.

Morton, 53, was only in Detroit for one season and primarily worked with the passing offense. Prior to his brief stint with the Lions, Morton was with the Raiders in the same role. He was the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator in 2017 and was the WR coach in New Orleans in 2015-2016, the last year of which he worked with Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

The Broncos passing offense will have a distinct Detroit flavor. Morton will be working directly under new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who was the Lions’ OC from 2014-2016 under head coach Jim Caldwell.

Morton’s departure leaves an opening on the offensive staff. The Lions have also yet to replace defensive line coach Todd Wash, who left for the same role with the Carolina Panthers.

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Lions announce new additions to the coaching staff

Detroit introduced three new coaches under Dan Campbell

The Detroit Lions have filled out the coaching staff for the 2022 NFL season. In addition to many prominent returning names underneath head coach Dan Campbell, the Lions added three new members to the staff.

New senior offensive assistant John Morton is an experienced coach who most recently spent the last three seasons in the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders. Morton, not to be confused with former Lions WR Johnny Morton, has over 20 years of NFL coaching experience. He had one season (2017) as the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. Morton also coached with Campbell in New Orleans in 2016, serving as the Saints wide receivers coach that year.

Morton also played wide receiver in the NFL Europe and CFL after graduating from Western Michigan back in 1993. He will work with offensive skill position players.

Wayne Blair is the new defensive quality control coach, but he’s a familiar face in Allen Park. Blair coached under the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship program for the Lions in 2021.

The third new coach is one previously announced. Assistant defensive line coach Cameron Davis was known to be with the team. He jumps up from FCS-level Lamar University.

4 candidates for Saints offensive coordinator not named Eric Bieniemy

Pete Carmichael Jr. is expected to step down as Saints offensive coordinator, and it’s unclear who replaces him under Dennis Allen. Here are four names to know besides Eric Bieniemy:

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Pieces are already being shuffled around on the New Orleans Saints coaching staff, and more changes are on the way. Pete Carmichael Jr. is expected to step down as Saints offensive coordinator, being reassigned to a different role — but it’s unclear who Dennis Allen plans to replace him with. Here are four names to know besides Eric Bieniemy (we’ve already discussed the high-profile Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, and his candidacy for the job, in depth). Let’s get to it:

Report: Saints considering reunion with former OC Doug Marrone

Report: Saints considering reunion with former OC Doug Marrone, WR coach John Morton

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Dennis Allen was formally introduced as New Orleans Saints head coach on Tuesday, and some changes are on the way as he evaluates his staff and considers possible shakeups. On Wednesday, Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan reported that two former Saints assistants could join Allen’s staff: Doug Marrone and John Morton, who have each worked with Allen under Sean Payton in the past. Marrone was Sean Payton’s first offensive coordinator, hired back in 2006, while Morton initially joined the staff as an offensive assistant in 2006 and returned as wide receivers coach in 2015.

Marrone is in a curious position. He worked as Alabama’s offensive line coach last season but was replaced by Feb. 1, leaving his current status unclear. It hasn’t been reported whether he was fired, asked to resign, or chose to move on. Either way, he’s a free agent. And as a former NFL head coach in his own right (going 38-60 between stops with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars), he could be a resource for Allen to lean on, maybe as offensive coordinator. That just wouldn’t be the exciting outside-the-box move some have been hoping for.

As for Morton: he’s been working as a senior offensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders the last few years, but it’s unlikely he’ll be retained under the new Josh McDaniels regime. Duncan adds that Pete Carmichael Jr. is likely to step down to a less-prominent role rather than remain at offensive coordinator. These moves would line up with Allen’s comment about looking to tweak the Saints offense rather than introduce any serious changes.

But that might be a problem. Sean Payton saved the Saints in 2017 by firing his longtime friends on defense and replacing them with brand-new assistants: swapping Joe Vitt for Mike Nolan, Bill Johnson for Ryan Nielsen, and totally upending the special teams staff. There’s a very, very thin line between Allen hiring people he’s comfortable working with and looking for a way to get his old friends a paycheck. It’s a tough act to pull off.

Nepotism is a plague on NFL coaching staffs. Too often coaches keep a narrow view on who they want to surround themselves by, hiring their friends or friends of their father or guys who they owe a favor. If that’s the direction Allen wants to take, the most charitable way you could spin it is saying he thinks the best way to emulate Sean Payton’s success is by bringing back all of his old assistants.

If that’s the case, why stop with Marrone with Morton? What’s Joe Vitt up to? I hear Rob Ryan and Gregg Williams are looking for work. Let’s hope Allen ends up taking a fresher approach than this initial report suggests.

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