As Sean Payton has assembled and nearly finalized his Denver Broncos coaching staff, one particular move has flown a bit under the radar. The team hired John Morton as Pass Game Coordinator, joining an offensive staff that will obviously be led by Payton but also Payton's longtime right-hand-man Joe Lombardi. Morton, as you may have guessed, has a history of working with Payton.
He was originally the passing game coordinator for Payton's saints back in 2006, but just for a season, before he was hired on by USC in the same capacity. He reunited with Payton a decade later for two seasons (2015-16) as wide receivers coach for the New Orleans Saints. Morton was the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets in 2017 before joining the Raiders in 2019 as a senior offensive assistant.
In 2022, Morton moved to Detroit to be a senior assistant on Dan Campbell's offensive staff as well. He and Campbell are both branches of the Sean Payton coaching tree with Campbell having spent a lot of time playing for Payton in New York and Dallas as well as New Orleans before coaching for him from 2016-2020. Morton and Campbell worked together in Detroit this past year, along with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and the rest of the outstanding staff with the Lions, to rank 5th in the NFL in points scored, 8th in passing yards, and best in the league with only 15 turnovers.
How much did Morton have to do with it? Well, Dan Campbell says it's impossible to truly convey that.
Lions HC Dan Campbell also had high praise for Broncos new Pass Game Coordinator John Morton:
— Aric DiLalla (@AricDiLalla) March 1, 2023
"What John Morton did for us on offense this year was pivotal and it was behind the scenes — and I’m not sure everybody understands just how important he was for us."
It's been great to see Sean Payton building such a respectable staff, and you've got to love the inclusion of guys like John Morton in the mix. Morton, for what it's worth, is potentially going to be a valuable connection piece when it comes to the upcoming NFL free agency class.
Morton was in Las Vegas from 2019-2021 where he helped coach running back Josh Jacobs, a player who has done extremely well in his career against the Denver Broncos and has been the subject of some recent rumors.
He was also in New Orleans as the wide receivers coach in 2016 when the team drafted Michael Thomas out of Ohio State. That connection may very well be one to watch in the coming weeks. Stay tuned...
At any rate, Morton obviously comes highly recommended by Dan Campbell and he's coming off of a season in which the Detroit Lions' passing attack was wildly successful. Obviously not to diminish the job being done by Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, but there was a notable uptick in the Lions' passing game when the team moved on from Anthony Lynn as the OC in 2022, promoted Johnson, and hired Morton as a senior offensive assistant.
In the years that Morton was with the Raiders, they ranked 9th, 7th, and 6th in total passing. As previously mentioned, the Lions ranked 8th in that particular category this past year. That's a long enough string of passing games Morton is associated with being very good that you should take notice. The fact that Campbell is singing his praises at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is more than just a coach being nice.
Even Jets fans seem to remember Morton fondly for the one year he was their OC with Josh McCown as the quarterback.
When you look at the recent string of success of the passing games of teams Morton has been with, along with the fact that he's got connections to some premier free agents, it's clear that this hire by Sean Payton could be much more than meets the eye.