Is Dan Campbell still the guy without Ben Johnson calling plays? Following a 2024 campaign where the Detroit Lions averaged 33.2 points per game, it was no question that OC Ben Johnson would be a hot commodity. Shortly after the Lions’ season ended at the hands of Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, Johnson signed elsewhere.
The highly touted offensive guru signed a five-year, $65 million deal with the Chicago Bears. The contract makes Johnson one of the highest-paid first-time coaches ever. For the Lions, Johnson’s departure leaves head coach Dan Campbell with something to prove.
12-Year NFL Guard Expresses Faith in Campbellās Understanding of Lions Offense
Mark Schlereth played 12 seasons in the NFL, spending time with the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins. Now, the 3X Super Bowl champ spends his time analyzing the NFL on radio and TV.
Schlereth and fellow crew members of Fox Sports 1’s “Breakfast Ball” opened up about Johnson’s exit and how exactly it impacts Campbell and the Lions’ operation.
Despite Johnson’s intelligence, Schlereth sees Campbell’s fingerprints all over the club’s offensive scheme.
“Where I don’t think Dan gets enough credit–he understands that offense,” said Schlereth. “I was calling games when he was still kinda calling plays and transitioning to Ben Johnson.”
.@markschlereth breaks down Dan Campbell’s incredible impact on Detroit’s offense ā¬ļø
Dan understands that offense. So, what you’ve seen over the last couple of years isn’t just Ben Johnson… Dan Campbell is very much involved. pic.twitter.com/8OlBn1xmze
ā Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 2, 2025
Schlereth continued, “Dan has got a very heavy hand on the way that offense is structured, the way they run that offense, he’s big into that. The guy is very smart when it comes to X’s and O’s, how to use personnel to do all those things.”
The former guard continued by saying the Lions’ offense over the last few years may be heavily influenced by Johnson, but their roots come before him, courtesy of Campbell.
“What you’ve seen over the last couple years isn’t just, ‘hey Ben Johnson take over and run the show,’ it is very much that Dan Campbell is involved in that,” said Schlereth. “So he’ll get back, more involved in this offense as well, to make sure it continues to run the way he has established it from the beginning.”
The Lions’ Offense Without Johnson Will Keep āAggressive Identityā
To conclude their segment on “Breakfast Ball,” co-host Danny Parkins elaborated on the dynamic duo that was Johnson and Campbell.
“Ben Johnson was the brilliant play designer,” said Parkins. “But as I understand it, he took a lot of the aggression of like ‘we can run the ball on third and six cause I’m gonna go for it on fourth and three,’ that was something that he bought into because of the analytics and his math background. But that was Dan Campbell’s aggression and his nature, so they’ll still be that type of team.”
John Morton is stepping in to fill the OC vacancy as Johnson gets his HC career going in Chicago. Morton has worked his way up the NFL coaching ladder since 1998. He has primarily served in the passing game, working as a wide receivers/tight ends coach on seven occasions.
The 55-year-old was an offensive coordinator in the NFL once before. This came in 2017 with the New York Jets. His tenure in New York lasted just one season.
In 2022, he worked with Detroit as the club’s senior offensive assistant. Then he moved to Denver, fulfilling the role of pass game coordinator. Currently, Morton is back with the Lions, earning the offensive coordinator role.
Morton will have a tall task to replicate the efficiency of Johnson’s offense. However, with Campbell’s offensive architecture still instilled in the offense, the sky may once again be the limit for Detroit.