Well, this is interesting.
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has begun taking over some play-calling from John Morton for Week 10 against the Washington Commanders. That's a big change considering the Lions seem to be fully trusting of their other new coordinator, Kelvin Sheppard, on defense.
You might've noticed on the first Lions drive a lot more deep balls and involvement of Jahmyr Gibbs in the passing game. It seems like Campbell might've been the reason for that.
This is a shift that could definitely sting for some Lions fans that started out the year a bit nervous about the change at OC necessitated by Ben Johnson's departure for the rival Chicago Bears. While the team and fans had to accept that Detroit would simply be without Johnson's mind on offense for this year, it was entirely on the front office, and Campbell, to find an appropriate replacement.
Morton, so far, has not been that.
Play calling taken over by Campbell in Week 10 against Commanders
This change, reported on by NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and corroborated as something that's possibly been going on since Week 9 by Detroit Free Press's Dave Birkett, feels like a long time coming for Lions fans who have been begging for more explosiveness from the offense this season.
Detroit went away from what worked for them in what was their best game of the year in Week 2 against Chicago and Johnson. They started to rely far too heavily on Gibbs to pick up yardage with a shaky offensive line, and weren't even trying to look at Jameson Williams - their speediest option downfield - as a target. That's a problem if you're Morton.
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Just this week, it seemed like there was a disconnect between what Morton was seeing on the field as of late and what Campbell and players have been seeing. That miscommunication and lack of chemistry between Morton and players has been palpable, but has only really begun to bite them. They still have time to turn things around, which is likely by Campbell was happy to take over for this contest.
Would Detroit go so far as a to replace Morton entirely in-season? Possibly. This is, on paper, a Super Bowl caliber team, and they haven't looked like it on offense as of late. Morton is a significant reason for that. Against a Washington squad dealing with a plethora of injuries, it should be interesting to see how this Lions offense operates with Campbell more heavily involved with them.