The Chicago Bears are getting ready to open their playoff run on Saturday night when they host the Green Bay Packers. But last year’s NFC North champions, the Detroit Lions, may have given Bears fans a laugh heading into that game after firing offensive coordinator John Morton on Tuesday.
Morton was chosen as the replacement for Ben Johnson after he was hired as the Bears’ head coach last January. Seeing Morton fired after one season on the job is the perfect case of schadenfreude but it could come with a catch.
Yahoo’s Jori Epstein mentioned that current offensive coordinator Declan Doyle could be a candidate to replace Morton in Detroit, noting his previous experience with Lions head coach Dan Campbell. It’s enough to stop any chuckle from Bears fans in their tracks and could leave Chicago worse off after Detroit initially chose the wrong decision for their next offensive coordinator.
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Despite being in his late 20s, Doyle has a resume that should be attractive to the Lions OC job. After beginning his career as a student assistant at Iowa, he joined Sean Payton’s staff in 2019 at the same time Campbell served as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach. Campbell was hired by the Lions in 2021, and Doyle followed Payton when he was named head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2023 before being hired by Johnson as offensive coordinator in 2025.
Doyle’s first year on the job has played a key role in the Bears’ success this season. Caleb Williams flirted with becoming the Bears’ first 4,000 yard passer in franchise history and completed 58.1% of his passes with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Bears as a team averaged 25.9 points per game (9th in NFL) and 5.7 yards per play (9th) and it led the team to their first division title since 2018.
Some may discredit Doyle because Johnson calls the plays in Chicago. But Epstein added in a piece published last October that Doyle usually sends the directives to the offense and Morton went as far to describe Doyle as “another Ben Johnson.”.
“I think that’s a good thing,” Johnson told Epstein at the NFL scouting combine. “I’m banking on that being a good thing. Listen, I think he and I are a match made in heaven. He thinks very much like me.”
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It doesn’t take much to connect the dots here. Johnson was sorely missed in Detroit as the offense lacked a rhythm and after losing Johnson, the next best thing is to go get his current protege. While the NFC North ties would have Chicago prefer Doyle not take the job, they may not be able to deny the request for an interview.
The Lions could be considered a “bona fide” coordinator position since Doyle would have play-calling duties with the Lions as opposed to his current roles with the Bears. Although explanations from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco from when the rule was instituted in 2020 make that unclear, it could see Doyle at least land an interview which could raise the anxiety of everyone inside Halas Hall.
Should Doyle leave, it could create a ripple effect for the Bears offense. Johnson may call the plays but having a different voice in the room could make a big difference during the week when Johnson is overseeing the entire team. Doyle also has a good idea of what the Bears run defensively after seeing it in practice every day and while things could be changed, the philosophies are likely to stay the same.
The Bears’ future will likely be determined by who stays in Chicago and Doyle’s departure shouldn’t be the sole reason for a collapse. If anything, it’s a small price for the Bears to pay for Johnson’s success in his first year on the job. But it’s a scenario that Johnson and the rest of his staff would rather not play out as they may have found one of the league’s brightest young coordinators one year ago.