The Detroit Lions have a lot of tough decision to make this offseason, and one of those is what to do at offensive coordinator.
The Lions hired John Morton after Ben Johnson departed for the Chicago Bears' head coaching job.
Morton had a disastrous first season on the job, though, as he had play-calling duties stripped from him midway through the season, with head coach Dan Campbell taking over the role.
Because of that and the Lions missing the playoffs, Morton figures to be on the hot seat as the Lions prepare to turn the page to the offseason.
According to a rumor from CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, sources believe the Lions are going to be looking for a new play-caller in 2026, and Jones isn't ruling out Detroit poaching someone from Johnson's staff.
"League sources believe Dan Campbell will be in the market for a new offensive coordinator this year, and perhaps he pulls from Johnson's staff one year after Johnson took flight from Detroit," Jones writes.
Chicago's offensive coordinator is Declan Doyle, but he does not call the plays for the Bears because Johnson does. As a result, it's logical to think Doyle could take another offensive coordinator job if offered so he can call plays.
While that remains to be seen, the Bears will have a say in what Doyle does thanks to the fact that Chicago can block any team from interviewing Doyle because he would be making a lateral move.
We would bet every penny that Chicago would block Detroit from interviewing Doyle if the Lions are indeed interested in hiring him.
Other Bears coaches who could be of interest to the Lions and can't be stopped from interviewing are quarterbacks coach J.T. Barrett, wide receivers coach and assistant head coach Antwaan Randle El and running backs coach Eric Bienemy.
Of those three, Bienemy is the only one with offensive coordinator experience, as he served in that role with both the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders. He was also an OC in the college ranks with Colorado.
Randle El was on the Lions' staff for the previous three seasons before he was poached by Johnson in 2025.
He served as the Lions' wide receivers coach from 2021-24, and before that he was an offensive assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Barrett is also a former Lions coach. He was an offensive assistant with the team in 2022 and then served as assistant quarterbacks coach from 2023-24 before leaving for Chicago with Johnson.
The familiarity Randle El and Barrett have with the Lions makes them more likely to be candidates for the Lions' job than Bienemy if Detroit indeed fires Morton.
But we can't discount Bienemy because of his edge in experience when it comes to being an offensive coordinator.
We'll know soon enough what the Lions' plans are with the offseason rapidly approaching.
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