Montgomery: Lions 'Don't Make Mistakes' With Coaching Hires

Montgomery excited to get to work with John Morton.

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5). | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have had plenty of change to their coaching staff this offseason, and with multiple positions still yet to be filled more will be on the way.

Most notably, the Lions hired their replacement for Ben Johnson externally. John Morton, who was a member of the coaching staff in 2022, will return to Detroit to take over as offensive coordinator.

Morton received credit for helping to install the Lions' scheme under Johnson, as his year in Detroit was Johnson's first in the coordinator role. He inherits a running game that features one of the best tandems in the league in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery.

Though Montgomery has not yet met his new coordinator, as he was not with the team the year Morton was in Detroit, he expects big things. He noted that the Lions are very thorough with their coaching decisions and prioritize how the prospective candidates will fit with the organization.

“I haven’t met him personally yet but I hear all good things from him. I know his addition will help," Montgomery told NFL Network. "Coach Campbell and Brad do a great job of putting guys around us in our culture so that we can all benefit. He don’t make mistakes like that. He’s very, very into who he decides to bring in the building. I wish we were playing today, but we’re not.” 

"Definitely the best RB duo in the league." @MontgomerDavid talks about sharing the backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs in the @Lions offense 🩵 pic.twitter.com/UU2qgUXDZD

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 5, 2025

When both are healthy, Montgomery and Gibbs offer the Lions one of the most potent ground attacks in the entire NFL. Both provided over 1,000 all-purpose yards, and Montgomery was on pace for his second-straight 1,000-yard rushing season before missing the last three regular season games due to injury.

The pair of players have not been shy about their hopes to go down in history as the best tandem to play together, and expectations are as high as ever ahead of the 2025 season.

“Definitely the best running back duo in the league. Me and Jahmyr, that’s my dog. You’ve got to be in a position and a mental headspace to be selfless enough to be appreciative of someone else’s success," Montgomery said. "A lot of people forget that we’re all competitors, we all want to play ball and we all want to be the guy, but sometimes you’ve got to be selfless for the greater good of the team.

"Being able to be teamed up with somebody of Jahmyr’s magnitude and be able to do it with him and do it together I think is super special," Montgomery continued. "When it’s all said and done and me and him are done playing together, we’ll be the best running back duo to ever play together.”