The Lions have landed on their preferred candidate for the offensive coordinator position. Drew Petzing is heading to Detroit, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 
The sides are working to finalize an agreement in this case, per Schefter. Once that takes place, the Lions will have their John Morton replacement set for 2026. Morton was dismissed after one season in the OC role.
This hire is likely to see Petzing handle play-calling duties, Schefter’s colleague Jeremy Fowler confirms. Head coach Dan Campbell took over in that capacity midway through the 2025 campaign. As Fowler notes, though, it was expected throughout Detroit’s search process that Campbell would hand those responsibilities to the new offensive coordinator. Petzing called plays during his three years with the Cardinals.
When Arizona hired Jonathan Gannon as head coach, Petzing was among the members of his initial staff. Both remained in place with the Cardinals through the end of the 2025 campaign. Gannon was fired shortly after the end of the regular season, however. Petzing and other staffers have since been expected to depart during the hiring cycle. He and Campbell have never worked together, but as ESPN’s Field Yates notes, Petzing is very close with Bears head coach (and former Lions OC) Ben Johnson.
Campbell will hope that level of familiarity – in a sense – will help bring about a return to Johnson-era production on offense. Detroit did not fall particularly short in that respect in 2025, ranking fifth in points and yards per game. Still, struggles in the run game in particular were an issue this past season. Improving on that front will be a key priority for Petzing’s unit.
The 38-year-old led Arizona to rankings of 19th and 24th in total and scoring offense, respectively, during his first season in place. Petzing’s best year came in 2024, when the Cardinals just missed out on a top-10 finish in each of those areas. Strong production on the ground was a key feature of Arizona’s offense during the first two season of Petzing’s tenure. That helped land him a head coaching interview during last year’s hiring cycle. Dealing with numerous injuries, the Cards regressed on offense in 2025.
Arizona’s HC position is still open at this time. The team’s offensive coordinator spot will now doubt remain vacant until Gannon’s replacement is in place. Petzing, meanwhile, will take charge of a Lions offense still featuring many of the elements it had during Johnson’s highly effective tenure. If things go according to plan in 2026, Petzing could once again find himself on the head coaching radar during next year’s cycle.
lmao
Eh, huh? What am I missing with why this guy was their ultimate choice?
It alludes to it in the article.
Do the Lions realize they have an offense that pretty much anybody would want to coordinate? They should get to pick who they want, not have to take what’s left.
I guess they feel McDaniel will coach the Brown-Eyes
Not even going to wait and see where McDaniel lands?
McDaniel probably already told them no.
If he did, it would be like a homeless man refusing a free meal thinking someone would give ’em a fat, giftcard … haha
This is the worst simile I’ve seen on the internet in quite some time. McDaniel is going to be a HC in 2026.
Mcdaniel will probably be coaching the Bills
McDaniels will either be HC or OC for Bucs. If Saleh gets a job he could go to them as OC. He wants to call plays not have offense minded HC that can oversee and take away duties.
Very promising hire, in my opinion. He showed a lot of promise in Arizona working with a suboptimal quarterback and supporting staff. A year ago he was getting head coach interviews. His biggest trouble came this season when he lost Klayton Adams, who coached the offensive line and designed a lot of the running game. Now he’ll have Hank Fraley for that.
A year ago, he had one HC interview.
OK, if that’s true then remove an s from my comment, add an a, and I stand by everything I said.
Lmao really
I guess better a Petzing than a Pizcter …
Expect Goff to throw the ball with more authority and speed.
Especially when throwing to his “Pet” receivers.
Drew will coach Goff up to put more ZING on his passes !!
Not a bad hire
I want what you’re smoking. It’s a terrible hire.
People thought Ben johnson was a bad hire by Detroit too… I have no idea what to expect. They hired who they are comfortable with.
He’s not Ben Johnson.
Neither is Mike Mcdaniel.
😂
Gonna be one of those classic comment sections where 90% of the commenters will be shown to be wrong in a year. Happens with regularity.
All the damn time. And I’m sure most of them would never remember or admit remembering some of the things they’ve said.
Please prove me wrong. As far as I’m concerned, this is a terrible hire. I will stand by that statement until proven otherwise. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was fired after one season.
Good thing no one cares whether you are right or wrong. IMO I find it usually works out best for a team when they hire who they think fits their team versus the fan favorite.
The reality is none of you guys know crap about the inner-workings of the team, schemes, personell,playbooks or anything else. You’re making judgements strictly because you don’t know who the guy is and he’s not Mike McDaniel. Mike McDaniel, BTW, who didn’t even call plays with 49ers under Shanahan and who had one good year in Miami with a healthy Tyreke Hill—otherwise his offenses were average or below. And don’t blame Tua/QB for those bad offenses under McD if you are not going likewise blame Kyler Murray or Jacoby Brisset for Petzing.
Prior comments imply otherwise, but if being a flippant a-hole works for you. 🤷🏾♂️
You say Mike McDaniel had one good year when the Dolphins have scored the ninth most points since he took over, despite that quarterback situation. And you can, you know, actually watch the offenses. That’s public. McDaniel is a really good play caller.
“No one cares what you think, but here’s what I think.” -Diabetic 🤣
@blue- Look at his track record. What makes you think he will be bad? You can pretty much ignore 2025 given all their offensive injuries. He constantly produces a strong run game, which is exactly what Detroit needs.
In 2023/2024 combined, the Cardinals were 2nd in ypc and 7th in total rushing yards. They also ranked 13th in scoring in 2024 before dropping this year without Kyler Murray, James Conner, Paris Johnson, and Marvin Harrison for many games (so regression was certain). If he could do that with the lack of talent in Arizona, I’m not sure why fans think he’ll be worse with Detroit’s personnel, especially when it’s tailored towards his tendencies.
I certainly hope you’re right and I’m wrong.
dude looks like temu Robert Saleh
I’m very excited with this hire. This is Ben Johnsons really good friend(does that matter, well a little bit. He probably has pieces of Johnsons style in his game) He didn’t have the group of high level players in AZ. He did what he could with what he was given(Murray needs to get his head out of his arse). Now enter Brown,Williams,Gibbs and LaPorta. Should be fun to see what he does with the interior of the offensive line.
I hope you’re right. This hire didn’t move the needle at all for me.
The NFL hiring practices (more like unspoken policy) for coaches and coordinator is a joke and ridiculous!
Huh?
Because he is not a minority?
You can whine about the hire, but the Lions since Sheila took over have been very good about hiring who they feel is best regardless of color of the skin. They had a black DC in Glenn, replaced him with another, have a black GM as well. The assistant head coach is black. They gave Randle-El and JT Barrett their first significant coaching jobs. Their first OC hire was Anthony Lynn.
In other words…
Why are you making up an issue?
The reality is no one cares what you think. 😂
“Why are you making up an issue?”
Hardly making up an issue and I stand by what I originally said! Ten new coaches hired, one’s a minority. I’m betting the newly hired NFL coordinators for ’26 is nearly the same ratio.
Whereas, over 70% of NFL players are minorities!!
Your saying there is no “issue” and I’m “making up an issue” tells me all I need to know about your mindset and how you view this country!
But hey, you go ahead and keep believing everything you think & hear on Earth 2!
Hahahahahahahaha as a Bears fan I absolutely love this.
And, I’ll love your tougher schedule next year.
And we enjoy beating you twice a year