The Detroit Lions under Dan Campbell have been extremely hit-and-miss with their coordinator hires. Anthony Lynn, John Morton, and Kelvin Sheppard have all underwhelmed, but Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn have both received head coaching jobs. Based on how the 2026 season has started off, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing may be next in line for a crack as a leading man.
Oddly enough, the Jets may be one of the first calls Petzing receives in the offseason. Glenn's loss to the previously 0-5 Miami Dolphins dropped him to 5-19 overall and 0-8 in the AFC East. It seems like a lock that he will be dumped at the end of the season, and the team may look for an offensive coach this time around.
Petzing has the Lions' offense on fire right now, and he has more experience than many of the offensive coordinators in the league who don't call plays. Would it shock anyone if the Jets replaced Glenn with Petzing?
Jets could replace Aaron Glenn with Detroit Lions OC Drew Petzing
The league's trend of hiring young offensive coaches has led to a severe drop in qualified candidates on that side of the ball, oddly enough. Top coaches like Johnson, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan call their own plays. As a result, the "offensive coordinator" of some of the league's more high-octane units has only a few years of experience and isn't trusted with the call sheet.
Petzing, on the other hand, is masterminding the Lions' dynamic attack. Rather than hiring someone like Grant Udinski, Klay Kubiak, or Declan Doyle, all of whom are under 40 years old with one combined year of play-calling between them, the Jets could pivot to Petzing. Not only does he have three years in Arizona, where he did well with the available talent, but he has coached in the NFL since 2014.
Under Petzing's watch, Jared Goff has now thrown an interception in six games while throwing for at least 200 yards passing and one touchdown in every game this year. Petzing is getting Jahmyr Gibbs the ball as often as possible, and that has resulted in 890 scrimmage yards and a league-best nine total touchdowns from scrimmage this season.
Detroit Lions OC Drew Petzing may be appealing to team who need an offensive coach
Despite Glenn, who may end up returning to his old Lions DC role if he gets canned in New York, coming from this same Dan Campbell tree, the Jets may be in a position to look for someone like Petzing. Why hand a job in that media market with that much negativity around it to a 30-year-old newbie or a recently fired coach who may or may not have been away from the game for years?
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The Jets have hired only one offensive coach in the Woody Johnson ownership era, and that coach was Adam Gase. The Jets clearly have respect for Campbell and how he built the Lions up, and they might try to squeeze some of that pixie dust out of Petzing.
Lions fans hoping for stability on the offensive side of the ball may be sorely disappointed, as teams will be calling about Petzing's avilability at the end of the season.
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