The long-reported hirings for the coordinator vacancies in Detroit are now official. On Thursday, the Lions organization hired Kelvin Sheppard as the new defensive coordinator and John Morton as the offensive coordinator. Both moves have been known for some time, but the press release from the Lions indicates that the moves are now finalized.

(CBS DETROIT) - The Detroit Lions have hired Denver Broncos passing game assistant John Morton as their new offensive coordinator. The Michigan native, who previously worked with the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell in 2022, will replace Ben Johnson, who was tapped for the head coaching position in Chicago .

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.

Morton worked for Campbell in 2022 with the Lions and helped the Broncos offense improve the past two years under Payton.

The Detroit Lions have agreed to hire Denver Broncos assistant John Morton as offensive coordinator and promote Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator.

Former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is off to Chicago to lead the Bears. Former defensive Aaron Glenn is now the head coach of the New York Jets. Both will be missed in Detroit, but Campbell and company must move forward with the assistants remaining. That process has already begun.

Shaw and Morton go back to their days as offensive coaches for the Raiders under Jon Gruden in the late 90’s. They followed similar paths from there.

David Shaw coached Stanford to two Rose Bowl wins, and now joins Detroit Lions remade offensive coaching staff under Dan Campbell for 2025 season.

Morton was Detroit’s senior offensive assistant in 2022 under head coach Dan Campbell before heading to Denver to be the club’s passing game coordinator for the last two seasons. He previously worked with Campbell in New Orleans in 2016 when Campbell was the team’s tight ends coach and Morton was the receivers coach.

As the pass game coordinator for the Broncos the last two seasons, Morton led the team to a top 10 finish (sixth; 96.7) in passer rating in 2023 and was instrumental in helping ro

The Detroit Lions announced today the hiring of John Morton as offensive coordinator and the promotion of Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator.