The Detroit Lions appear to have found their replacement for offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, and it’s a familiar face for the franchise. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Lions are working to hire Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton for the role.

Morton, 55, is an Auburn Hills native and a Western Michigan University graduate. He previously served as a senior offensive assistant for the Lions in 2022 under head coach Dan Campbell. The two also worked together in 2016 on Sean Payton’s staff with the New Orleans Saints.

Morton spent the past two seasons on Payton’s staff in Denver, where he worked with rookie quarterback Bo Nix, a candidate for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The NFL Network reported Sunday that Morton as a candidate expected to garner an interview for the role after Johnson left Detroit to become the Chicago Bears’ head coach. Recent reports suggest Morton is heading to Detroit to meet with Lions leadership, with both sides expected to finalize a deal soon.

Morton brings 27 years of coaching experience across college and professional football. His resume includes offensive coordinator stints at USC under current Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll and with the New York Jets under Todd Bowles, now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ head coach.

Before Morton’s emergence as the likely hire, internal candidates for the role included assistant head coach and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery and passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Morton’s return to Detroit also reunites him with Engstrand, whom he mentored during his previous tenure with the Lions.

“He (Engstrand) has good ideas, but I think him being able to learn from what’s been around here, but like — (former Lions Senior Offensive Assistant) John Morton, man, Johnny was — Johnny’s a superstar now,” Campbell said of Morton in 2023. “And there’s a number of things that he did for us last year that are things that we’ve kept. And I really feel like that helped Tanner as well.”

The Lions also recently addressed another coaching vacancy, promoting linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard to defensive coordinator following Aaron Glenn’s departure to the New York Jets. In a corresponding move, assistant linebackers coach Shaun Dion Hamilton was promoted to linebackers coach.