John Morton will once more find himself in Denver for the 2026 campaign. He’ll occupy a well-known role on Sean Payton‘s staff next season.
Morton is coming back to the Broncos on a full-time basis, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. He’ll once more hold the title of pass-game coordinator. It was in that capability that Morton worked in Denver throughout the 2023 and ’24 seasons.
Lats yr, Morton was hired by the Lions to function Ben Johnson‘s offensive coordinator alternative. Things didn’t go in accordance with plan in Detroit, to say the least. By the top of the season, head coach Dan Campbell had taken on play-calling duties. That made it no surprise when Morton was dismissed immediately following the conclusion of the regular season.
Morton was not out of labor for long, even along with his Lions gig coming to an end. The 56-year-old returned to the Broncos in time for his or her playoff run. Because of this, it’s definitely not a shock Payton has simply elected to proceed having Morton in place on a full-time basis. Probably the most significant difference between Morton’s first Broncos stint and his upcoming one, in fact, is the recent change made on the offensive coordinator spot.
Joe Lombardi was fired not long after Denver’s loss within the AFC title game. That paved the way in which for the highly in-demand Davis Webb to be promoted to OC. It stays to be seen if Payton will hand down play-calling duties to Webb for 2026, but in any case the dynamic between the 2 will probably be different than it previously was. Morton, meanwhile, will look to make a seamless transition back to his previous role in Denver. Doing so could help rebuild his stock and result in future coordinator opportunities.