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'Brilliant Mind': Lions Tight End Praises New Coordinator

Sam LaPorta praises new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
John Maakaron|
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) scores a touchdown against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Isaac Yiadom (22)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) scores a touchdown against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Isaac Yiadom (22) | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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Detroit Lions

New Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton may need a little time to fully gain the trust of supporters.

Ben Johnson, who departed to become the coach of the Chicago Bears, was able to orchestrate one of the best offenses in the league the past couple of seasons. Now, the responsibility falls on Morton to keep the team's offense humming at a high level.

Appearing on "The Jim Rome Show" earlier this week, tight end Sam LaPorta discussed the turnover on the Lions' coaching staff and praised the former Jets offensive coordinator and Broncos passing game coordinator.

LaPorta explained, when talking about Detroit's coaching staff, "Our offense might be a little bit different. Fortunately, we kept a couple of our position coaches, specifically, our offensive line coach (Hank Fraley). We promoted Hank Fraley to our run game coordinator. So, fortunately for me, we have the same run game system this year, the same verbiage, which, as you can imagine, is a lot. But Johnny Mo, pass game coordinator his entire life. Brilliant mind, I think he's gonna call the offense great."

Part of the reason Detroit has been successful the past few seasons has been the collaborative efforts of head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes.

"It goes hand in hand with the players that are out there, of course, winning the game," LaPorta said. "People always say it's a player's game. Brad Holmes has been the best at finding guys in the league that fit the culture in Detroit and are damn good football players at the end of the day, as well. So it starts with Dan, Brad, and then it works its way down to the players."

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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!

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