Why Dan Campbell Took Over Play Calling — And Why the Lions’ Offense Immediately Changed

Coach Dan Campbell finally did the thing Lions fans had been whispering about for weeks — he grabbed the play sheet. The move doesn’t surprise anyone because Campbell is a football pro. He played tight end at Texas A&M before the New York Giants drafted him in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He spent 11 seasons in the league with the Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and New Orleans Saints before stepping into coaching.

Ahead of Detroit’s Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders, the Lions head coach took over offensive play-calling from offensive coordinator John Morton — and immediately watched his offense explode. Detroit dropped 44 points and 546 total yards in a 44–22 win, according to the New York Post. The Lions scored on their first eight possessions and ripped off 226 rushing yards, a complete turnaround from their flat performance a week earlier against the Vikings.

After offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left in the offseason to become head coach of the Chicago Bears, Detroit promoted veteran assistant John to OC and handed him the play-calling duties. John, a longtime NFL assistant with stops in New Orleans, San Francisco, and with the Jets, entered 2025 with high expectations.

Early in the season, however, the Lions’ offense failed to resemble the explosive unit fans remembered from the Johnson era. Third-down efficiency dipped, the run game stalled — including only 65 rushing yards in a narrow loss to the Minnesota Vikings — and the offense couldn’t find a steady rhythm. That Vikings loss became the breaking point. The next day, Campbell told Morton he planned to take over the call sheet for the Washington game.

“Let’s try something a little different,” Dan told Pride of Detroit. “Look, I know what I want to do, I know how I want to do it. Now, that being said, this is a collaborative effort, now. I was taking input from John Morton the whole time, and the other coaches. […] But I just wanted to change things up a little bit. Let’s just see if maybe a different play-caller can, maybe give us a little rhythm. That’s all. And, honestly, it’s nothing more than that.”

If this move bruised John’s ego, he didn’t show it publicly. “I want to do whatever it takes to win,” John told reporters, per Pride of Detroit. “As soon as [Dan] said it — I’m like, all right, let’s go. What have we got to do? … It’s not about me… the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl.” John still handles a big chunk of the offensive design, especially in the passing game. He also said he continues to prep each week as if he’s calling the plays, staying locked in on adjustments and tendencies from the sideline.

Dan stepping in is nothing new. In 2021 — his first season in Detroit — he took over offensive play-calling from then-OC Anthony Lynn when the Lions started 0–8. According to Side Lion Report, Detroit went 3–5–1 the rest of the way and showed enough offensive improvement for the team to move on from Lynn and elevate Ben Johnson the following year.