By Moses Joshua 
After a season that began with Super Bowl expectations and ended on the outside looking in, Detroit has made its first major move to reset the offense.
A Promising Offense That Lost Its Identity
The Detroit Lions weren’t supposed to be here.
A year removed from a 15-win juggernaut, they entered 2025 with one of the league’s most feared arsenals — Jared Goff at the controls, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta terrorizing defenses, Jahmyr Gibbs turning creases into touchdowns. For a while, it looked like business as usual.
Then the rhythm vanished.
Injuries chipped away at the offensive line. Drives stalled. Big plays became isolated moments instead of a steady diet. By midseason, head coach Dan Campbell had already made a rare and telling move: he took over play-calling duties himself in an effort to stabilize a unit that had lost its spark.
The Lions finished 9–8, fourth in the NFC North, and watched January football from their couches for the first time since 2022.
Something had to give.
Detroit Moves On From Johnny Morton
That breaking point arrived Tuesday.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Detroit has officially parted ways with offensive coordinator Johnny Morton, a decision the organization quickly confirmed on social media.
Morton had been hired less than a year earlier, on Jan. 30, 2025, as the replacement for Ben Johnson after Johnson left to become head coach of the Chicago Bears. But Morton’s tenure never fully took hold. By November, Campbell had reclaimed the play-calling sheet — a clear sign that trust in the offensive direction had eroded.
In his final media session of the season, Morton acknowledged the reality of the situation, stressing his loyalty to the franchise while recognizing that hard choices were unavoidable.
The Lions didn’t make this move lightly. But they made it decisively.
Why the Change Was Inevitable
Detroit didn’t fail because of a lack of weapons. They failed because the pieces never clicked at the same time.
Drives too often ended in frustration. Third downs became coin flips. Red-zone trips felt like uphill climbs. What had once been an identity built on physicality, tempo, and precision turned into a week-to-week experiment.
Campbell stepping in midyear was a Band-Aid, not a cure.
By season’s end, it was clear the problem wasn’t effort — it was cohesion. The offense didn’t know exactly what it wanted to be, and that uncertainty showed up on Sundays.
A New Chapter Begins in Allen Park
With Morton now out, the Lions’ offseason officially begins with a question that will define their 2026 outlook:
Who can put this offense back together?
Detroit is expected to conduct a wide-ranging search for its next offensive coordinator, one who can rebuild a system around a retooled offensive line and restore the downhill efficiency that once made the Lions one of the NFC’s most dangerous teams.
This is not just a coaching change.
It’s a statement.
After falling short, Detroit isn’t pretending everything is fine. They’ve pulled the trigger, and now the real work — reshaping the heartbeat of their offense — begins.