With no prior indication they had talked to him, or were planning to talk to him, the Detroit Lions hiring of former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was equal parts shocking and uninspiring.
Petzing had all the key pieces of his Cardinals' offense healthy (or mostly healthy) just once in his three seasons as offensive coordinator. And that peak was not enough to inspire a lot of confidence, even with better skill player pieces and a quarterback who has proven to be very durable, he'll be highly successful as the Lions' offensive coordinator.
Head coach Dan Campbell seems to have learned from a less than extensive search to replace Ben Johnson a year ago. But that broader search this time around landing on Petzing points to a potential bigger issue, as Campbell seeks to maintain a level of influence over how the offense looks.
Cardinals writer points to Drew Petzing's potential fatal flaw
To get some insight on Petzing, and to help fans better understand what the Lions' new offensive coordinator brings to the table, John Maakaron of Lions on SI recently talked to Donnie Druin of Cardinals on SI.
Maakaron asked Druin if there's any truth to the perception from Cardinals' fans that Petzing's play-calling was predictable. The full extent of the answer will not do anything to assuage early concerns from Lions' fans.
"Just like any coordinator, Petzing would have some staple calls that fans didn't love (draw plays and screens on long distance downs just to eat some yards back) though situationally it felt like the Cardinals were at the bottom of the league. In "gotta have it" moments, numerous opposing defenses were able to sniff out Petzing's play call and spoke on how film study really prepped them. That's not new in the NFL, and execution does trump all, though the offense is already at a disadvantage if that's the case."
Maakaron also brought up Campbell taking play calling away from his offensive coordinator twice in five seasons as Lions' head coach, and if Petzing could have the same thing happen to him next season.
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"That's a great question", Druin said, "as Petzing never really had any viable options to replace his play-calling in Arizona which afforded him the luxury to keep his position through the end of this season. Former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon failed to intervene with Arizona's offensive issues. I think this question boils down to if Petzing has truly learned from his shortcomings out here in the desert. The offense is fine but not quite high upside — Arizona didn't score 30 points once in a single game this season, though there were several other issues haunting them.
"At a minimum I wouldn't expect Petzing to have a long leash."
The Lions' offense, via lack of execution, injuries and a late retirement impacting the offensive line or play calling, was arguably at a disadvantage this season more often than it was in the previous two or three combined.
If Petzing can't change the perception he's predictable as a play caller, that will be an obvious disadvantage for the Lions' offense before the ball is even snapped on a play-in, play-out basis. And with that the idea Campbell will be searching for a new offensive coordinator (again) a year from now, due to Petzing's failings, is hard to dismiss at this early point in time.