Sam LaPorta Praises Lions’ New OC John Morton: ‘Brilliant Mind, Big Plans!

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta shares his thoughts on the team’s new offensive coordinator John Morton, calling him a “brilliant mind” and expressing full confidence in the direction of the offense for the upcoming season.

With Ben Johnson gone, how will Morton reshape the playbook? Will we see a more vertical passing game? And what does this mean for rising stars like LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Jared Goff?

In this video, we break down:

Sam LaPorta’s full comments

Morton’s coaching background

What changes we might see in the Lions' offense

The leadership of Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes

Don’t miss this deep dive into the future of the Detroit Lions offense in 2025!

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Transcript

00:00If the Lions can successfully blend Morton's tweaks with the foundation Johnson laid,

00:05while leaning on their dynamic offensive weapons, there's every reason to believe they'll still be

00:10one of the most dangerous offenses in the league. Stability at the top makes a big difference.

00:16For Laporta and the rest of the locker room, one of the biggest reasons for confidence is

00:20the consistency in leadership. Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes are still at the top,

00:26setting the tone and culture. It goes hand-in-hand with the players that are out there,

00:30of course, winning the game, Laporta said. People always say it's a player's game.

00:37Brad Holmes has been the best at finding guys in the league that fit the culture in Detroit

00:41and are damn good football players at the end of the day, as well. Laporta's message is clear.

00:47The Lions aren't starting over. They're building on what they already have.

00:51And with guys like Campbell and Holmes steering the ship, he feels like the locker room is in great

00:57hands. A top-five offense three years in a row, can it continue? Let's not forget, under Ben Johnson,

01:05the Lions offense has been elite. We're talking top-five in both points scored and total yards

01:11in each of the last three seasons. That's no small feat. So yes, there are some questions heading

01:17into the 2025 season. Can John Morton replicate, or even improve upon, Johnson's success? How will

01:25the play calling change, especially with more vertical passing? Can the Lions still dominate

01:30with Frank Rang now gone and other shifting pieces? But based on what we're hearing from

01:36players like Laporta, confidence is high. The locker room believes in Morton, believes in the system,

01:42and believes in the leadership from the top down. Final thoughts. No panic in Detroit.

01:48Every time a successful coordinator leaves, there's always concern. Will the new guy live up to

01:54expectations? Will the offense take a step back? But if Sam Laporta's words are anything to go by,

02:01the Lions are in good hands. John Morton may be new to the OC title in Detroit, but he's been around

02:08the NFL long enough to know what works. He's got the respect of the players, the support of the

02:14coaching staff, and the leadership of Dan Campbell backing him up. And maybe, just maybe, the Lions

02:20offense is about to hit another gear in 2025. Lions T Sam Laporta calls new OC John Morton a brilliant

02:28mind. The Detroit Lions are gearing up for training camp, and while fans are excited about what's ahead,

02:34there's a big question mark heading into the 2025 season. How will the offense look without Ben

02:40Johnson running the show? Ben Johnson, the architect of one of the league's top offenses the past few

02:46years, is gone. But stepping in is John Morton, a familiar face in Detroit who's now taking over as

02:53offensive coordinator. And if you ask tight end Sam Laporta, fans shouldn't worry at all. He's very

02:59confident in Morton's abilities. Johnny M.O. is gonna call the offense great. In a recent interview

03:05with Jim Rome, Laporta didn't hold back his praise. It might be a little bit different, Laporta said.

03:13Fortunately, we kept a couple of our position coaches. Specifically, our offensive line coach.

03:19We promoted Hank Fraley to our run game coordinator.

03:22So, fortunate for me, we have the same run game system this year, same verbiage, which,

03:30as you can imagine, is a lot. But Johnny M.O., past game coordinator his whole life.

03:36Brilliant mind, I think he's gonna call the offense great. That's high praise coming from one of the

03:42league's top young tight ends, especially considering Morton has only called plays for one full season in

03:48the NFL, when he was with the New York Jets in 2017. But what Morton does bring is plenty of

03:54experience coaching in passing attacks. He spent the last two seasons as the passing game coordinator

04:00in Denver and was part of the Lions staff in 2022 as a senior offensive assistant. Offense will look

04:07a little different, but familiar faces remain. The Lions might have lost Johnson, but they held on to

04:13some key pieces that should make the transition a lot smoother. Most notably, offensive line coach

04:19Hank Fraley is sticking around, and he's being promoted to run game coordinator. That's a big deal,

04:26especially with veteran center Frank Rang now retiring this offseason. We kept our O-line coach,

04:33Laporta emphasized. And that's huge because we're keeping the same run game system,

04:38same language. That helps a ton. So while Morton might tweak some things, especially in the passing

04:45game, the Lions are still relying on a lot of the core offensive system that helped them dominate

04:50in recent years. Will Morton stretch the field more? While we don't have all the details about

04:56Morton's playbook just yet, there's been some chatter about potential changes, like pushing the ball more

05:02vertically downfield. That could be exciting for fans who want to see Jared Goff take a few more deep

05:08shots, or for playmakers like Jameson Williams to really shine. Running back Jammer Gibbs has already

05:15hinted that his role is changing, too. He's been splitting out wide more in practice, possibly

05:21signaling more creative usage under Morton.

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Sam LaPorta Praises Lions’ New OC John Morton: ‘Brilliant Mind, Big Plans!

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