Broncos Bring Back Former Lions OC as Playoff Consultant

John Morton has returned to the Denver Broncos after spending the 2025 season as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. Morton was spotted at Broncos practice this week, as the team prepared to take on the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and we now know why.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Morton was hired to serve as a consultant throughout the Broncos' playoff run.

"Former Lions offensive coordinator John Morton, who worked with Sean Payton in New Orleans and in Denver, joined the Broncos this week as a consultant for the postseason, per sources," Schefter reported on X on Saturday.

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Morton's Background

Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton. — HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 03: Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton oversees practice during the football game between Denver Broncos and Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 3, 2023 in Houston, Texas. | Leslie Plaza Johnson / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Morton, 56, spent 2023 and 2024 as the Broncos' pass game coordinator. When Lions head coach Dan Campbell — a fellow former Payton assistant — came calling, looking for an offensive coordinator to replace Ben Johnson, Morton was hired away.

Quarterbacks coach Davis Webb was given the additional title and responsibilities of succeed Morton as the Broncos' pass game coordinator this season. Webb has also become a head-coaching candidate of intrigue. It might be a bit early for him to get such a job, though.

Morton was fired by the Lions after just one season. Campbell had to take over play-calling duties at points during the season, as the Lions struggled to replicate their offensive dominance in the wake of Johnson's departure.

Although Morton has bee coaching in the NFL since 1998, the Lions job was only the second offensive coordinator job of his career in the pros. His other bite at the apple was with the New York Jets in 2017 under then-head coach Todd Bowles. That gig also last just one season.

However, Morton knows Payton's offense and Bo Nix, being part of the brain trust that coached and schemed him to historical rookie heights in 2024. An extra set of eyes couldn't hurt.

After becoming Broncos head coach, Payton wanted to cultivate the right chemistry for his quarterback room. Webb was hired as the QB coach just weeks after starting for the New York Giants as a player, with Joe Lombardi as offensive coordinator and Morton as pass game coordinator.

The group had a galvanizing effect on Russell Wilson in 2023, though it wasn't enough to forestall the inevitable parting of ways that Payton may have divined when he took the job in Denver. But the coaching chemistry obviously had a huge impact on the team's destiny when Payton got his handpicked quarterback in the room in 2024.

“There’s a unique chemistry in there. Obviously, [Webb] is day-to-day with those guys, and then the other group of us—when you look at Joe [Lombardi] as the coordinator and Johnny [Morton], there’s so much that goes into these plays and pictures, that the room flows fine," Payton said back in 2023. "It’s not noisy or busy. There’s quite a bit of experience there. It’s something we kind of set up intentionally with who’s in there and the structure of it.”

Payton would add another voice to the offensive conversation when his long-time offensive coordinator in New Orleans, Pete Carmichael, was hired as an offensive assistant in 2024. With Payton at the top, that's one heck of a wellspring of football knowledge for Nix to soak up.

Time will tell if Morton's return lasts in 2026. But Payton's got his band back together in time for the biggest Broncos game in a decade.

Broncos-Bills kicks off at 2:30 pm MDT.

Morton's Background

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