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USA Today
20-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kalif Raymond on new Lions OC John Morton: 'He expects us to be crafty'
Kalif Raymond came to Detroit five years ago as a young player hoping to establish himself in a bigger and better role after a few seasons of being a deep reserve on other squads. The diminutive receiver accomplished that goal, starting 14 games in the first year of the Dan Campbell era with the Lions and catching almost triple the amount of passes that season (48) than he had in his first four (19). Now, Raymond is a valuable reserve wideout as well as an All-Pro punt returner. Raymond, who turns 31 in a couple of weeks, is also an invaluable leadership presence in the locker room and Detroit's practice field. After Sunday's first practice session, Raymond graciously granted select reporters a few minutes. The focus of the conversation, after a lengthy laugh about luxury sunglasses, was on the new coaching in the wide receiver room. Detroit has a new offensive coordinator in John Morton, who replaces now-Bears head coach Ben Johnson. "Very intense, very passionate," Raymond said of his first impression of Morton as the coordinator. The attention to detail that Morton demands stood out to Raymond. "Detail, but also when he's explaining what we're doing (as WRs) he doesn't pass over the craftiness," Raymond said of Morton. "(Morton says) I don't want guys to just be robots or lines on paper. He understands the ins and outs of playing receiver ... he's expecting us to be crafty." That's a divergence from how Johnson approached the receivers. He often micromanaged the timing and spacing details, demanding more conformity than what Morton--who played wideout at Western Michigan and in the CFL before turning to coaching--has asked from the WR room. Raymond also noted that Morton is giving him and the other receivers "plenty of room to carve out their niche" in the offense. There has also been a change at the wide receivers coach. Scottie Montgomery moved over from his long-time RB coach role to replace Antwan Randle-El, who joined Johnson in Chicago. Raymond already had a lot of respect for Montgomery, and that's quickly growing. "Man, the level of detail is phenomenal. Just the focus on the little stuff we do," an upbeat Raymond said of Montgomery. "When I go out there I know exactly what I'm doing. I know how to do it, what the expectations are. I might know today (assignment/expectations) two days ago." Raymond added that the running backs told him Montgomery would be incredibly well-prepared, and that's proven true already.
NBC Sports
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
David Shaw says he "probably turned down three" NFL interviews a year as Stanford coach
After spending over a decade as head coach at his alma mater, Stanford, David Shaw made his way back to the pros as a senior personnel advisor for the Broncos last year. But Shaw has put his coaching hat back on for 2025, as he'll serve as Detroit's passing game coordinator. It's been two decades since Shaw was last an NFL coach, though he's apparently had several opportunities to return to the league. Shaw told reporters on Tuesday that on average, he 'probably turned down three' NFL interviews a year during his first decade as Stanford's head coach. 'I had a great job and I wanted to get the most out of it,' Shaw said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. 'So that was the thing for me was I always wanted to go back to the NFL, but so much of is about timing and I loved what I was doing. I loved where I was doing it and I loved who I was doing it with. 'And for a decade, we were a top-10 winning team, which not only Stanford but no academically high-ranking team has ever had a run like that. And I wanted to finish that run, knowing that whatever was next was going to be next.' Now Shaw is with Detroit, coaching alongside offensive coordinator John Morton — who called Shaw his best friend. The two first worked together with the Raiders back in 1998, and Morton said landing Shaw is 'a big deal for me because he's my soundboard.' With the Lions, Shaw says he doesn't want to 'disturb any of the positives' from the last few years when the offense was led by now-Bears head coach Ben Johnson. 'We're not saying we're going to come back and do a carbon copy of last year,' Shaw said. 'Last year's dead. It's gone. It's in the history books. We got a chance to write another chapter, so we're not going to be ogling at what happened last year. 'We're also not going to be held to it, either. Brand new year, different players, different coaches, different opponents. So it's really taking stock in who we have and what we have and make sure that we get the most out of everybody in the building. Coaches, players, everybody.'
