The Detroit Lions' search for a new offensive coordinator officially kicked off with Tuesday's announcement John Morton has been let go. Having play calling taken away in the middle of the season was the writing on the wall for Morton's job status, and to his credit head coach Dan Campbell wasted no time making the anticipated move.
The search for a new offensive coordinator is also starting quickly. On Tuesday evening, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported former Lions quarterback David Blough is the first candidate to replace Morton.
When Blough will interview for the job has not yet been reported.
Blough spent most of his playing career with the Lions, making five of his seven career starts as a rookie in 2019 after the Cleveland Browns had traded him to Detroit. He appeared in one game during Campbell's first season as head coach, before making two starts for the Arizona Cardinals in 2022 and spending 2023 back with the Lions on the practice squad.
Blough got right into coaching after retiring as a player, spending the last two seasons as the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders. When quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard left to become the head coach at Stanford, Blough became the quarterbacks coach for the remainder of this season.
Lions stay in the "family" for safe first offensive coordinator candidate
When Blough was with the Lions in 2023, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press asked him if he had any innovative ideas for offense.
"I do have thoughts in my head. It would be fun. After watching the Pro Bowl [when they played flag football] – really the Pro Bowl and then [playing] in Arizona, I was like, 'You could get really creative.'"
In his season-ending press conference, Campbell said he's undecided on retaining play calling duties next season. The prevailing opinion is that he should not keep calling plays, so he can focus on the big picture things that were lacking after he took over the play calling this season.
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That said, Campbell's comments back in November (h/t to Mike Payton of AtoZ Sports) feel telling in terms of how serious a candidate Blough (or someone of his ilk, with no prior play calling experience) could be for the offensive coordinator job.
"Don’t forget. Ben (Johnson) – I called those games. I called whatever that was, eight or nine games – I don’t remember what it was – in ’21 while he helped me. But he watched, he learned, he saw how I ran it, how I wanted to run it, what I was looking for. And then it evolved, he evolved it from there. He took it, he knew exactly what I wanted, and by the middle of ’22, I didn’t have to say a word.”
Campbell wants to have an imprint on the Lions' offense, and that general idea is never going away. But if this season proved anything, he also needs to extend beyond how he wants it to look, find fresh ideas and give whoever replaces Morton some room to integrate their vision.
Maybe Blough, despite being part of the proverbial "family tree", is that much-needed offensive mind with fresh ideas. But for those who want to see something different, starting the coordinator search with him is rather uninspiring.