Lions agree to hire Broncos' John Morton as OC and promote Kelvin Sheppard to DC, AP source says

Updated Jan. 28, 2025 8:49 p.m. ET

Associated Press

The Detroit Lions have agreed to hire Denver Broncos assistant John Morton as offensive coordinator and promote Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the agreements had not been announced.

Detroit had both coordinators depart to become head coaches. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn left to lead the New York Jets, just days after the top-seeded Lions were stunned by sixth-seeded Washington in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

Johnson and Glenn are finalists for The Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.

AP Coach of the Year finalist Dan Campbell said he expected both coordinators to leave even before they were hired.

Campbell said quarterback Jared Goff would have some say in who was chosen as offensive coordinator, adding he didn't expect the Pro Bowler to take a step back without Johnson calling plays.

“This thing is set up for Goff to have success with our playmakers,” Campbell said last week.

Goff is familiar with Morton because he was a senior offensive assistant for the Lions in 2022.

“I want to keep our terminology in place,” Campbell said before hiring Morton. "I want to make sure that Goff is comfortable because he’s playing at a high level.”

Detroit's players know Sheppard well.

He led the team's linebackers for the past three seasons after coaching outside linebackers during the 2021 season.

Sheppard, who is from Stone Mountain, Georgia, was drafted out of LSU by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 2011 draft, and the linebacker had 429 tackles in his 107-game career.

Campbell gave Sheppard his start in coaching after he was LSU’s director of player development in 2020.

The Broncos hired Morton away from Detroit in 2023 and he was their passing game coordinator for two seasons. He has more than two decades of coaching experience with Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, the New York Jets, New Orleans and San Francisco.

Morton, who is from suburban Detroit, was an All-Mid American Conference wide receiver at Western Michigan.

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Follow Larry Lage at  https://apnews.com/author/larry-lage

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