Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton hasn’t had a great year after his time in the Motor City ended after one season. It didn't take long for Morton to land on his feet, though, as shortly after his firing, he was given the chance for a second act as an offensive consultant for the Denver Broncos.
Returning to the team he was with before coming to Detroit, Morton’s return to the Broncos appeared to go well with a 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills. But things turned in a different direction when head coach Sean Payton announced that Bo Nix would miss the remainder of the playoffs after breaking his ankle in the victory.
Just like that, Morton’s redemption arc wasn’t going as planned, and it puts him in a tough spot as he looks to help lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl.
Box Nix Injury Throws Wrench Into Ex-Lions OC John Morton’s Redemption Tour
Nix’s injury has the most immediate impact for Morton as he’ll be forced to work with quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The good news is that Stidham has some starting experience with four games over his six-year career, but his time on the field hasn’t gone well, completing 59.4% of passes for 1,422 yards and eight touchdowns to as many interceptions in 20 career games. Stidham also hasn’t started a game since the 2023 season, requiring a need to knock the rust off after four markup appearances over the past two seasons.
Swapping Nix for Stidham is a tough draw, and it gets even tougher considering that he’ll face a stingy defense between the New England Patriots or the Houston Texans in the AFC Championship Game. But outside of the injury that he couldn’t control, things appeared to go well for Morton against the Bills.
One of the biggest impacts came during a play in the second quarter where Nix threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to offensive lineman Frank Crum. When discussing the play after the game, head coach Sean Payton credited Morton for his influence that allowed the play to happen.
“So ‘Johnny Mo’ was just working with us, consulting from Detroit,” Payton said via Sports Illustrated’s Chad Jensen. “Detroit ran that play against Buffalo in the regular season last year. The tackle, the jumbo for Detroit, would be on the other end. When we saw that, we saw it as a short-yardage play, but we saw it as a short-yardage red-zone play. They have a tendency to play more man when you’re in jumbo. So, a little short motion bumps, who’s covering who, and that’s one of those Rudy plays. Your whole team goes crazy when that happens.”
With the Broncos racking up 349 total yards and 279 yards and three touchdowns for Nix through the air, Lions fans may be left to wonder why Morton couldn’t do the same thing in Detroit. Morton probably also thought he had put his time with the Lions in the rearview mirror, where a lack of rhythm and the poor usage of playmakers such as David Montgomery and Jameson Williams led to his dismissal.
Had Nix not gotten hurt, Morton could have been on the way to a quick rebound in 2026 if the Broncos continued their success. With Stidham thrust into duty, that may not happen, and Morton might be back at square one soon.