The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator search took surprising twists and turns, resulting in former Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing landing the job.
As surprising as the Petzing hire was at the time, the most surprising news came shortly after as the Lions also reportedly hired interim New York Giants head coach Mike Kafka to their offensive staff in a yet-to-be-announced role.
For the first time, Petzing spoke on the Kafka hire and other burning questions fans had when he joined Pride of Detroit's Midweek Mailbag, speaking about Kafka at just past the 22-minute mark.
The Lions have not formally announced the Kafka hire, but Petzing confirmed he's currently working with him, saying, "We’re in here right now with Mike (Kafka) and the other offensive staff kind of putting it all together, making sure things fit, figuring out the language and how we want to do things."
Kafka was one of numerous coaches who interviewed for the Lions' OC position. As he was expected to be one of the top names on the OC market, it came as a surprise to many to see him join the Lions staff in a different role. Even after his reported hire, Kafka's name was included among possible candidates to fill the Seattle Seahawks' newly opened OC vacancy.
Petzing didn't share what, exactly, he knew about the decision to also bring in Kafka during his interview process, but he shared his overall perspective on how the process was handled.
"I think throughout the interview process, you know there’s some different guys and moving pieces and how the staff’s going to get put together. You know, I’m not going to get into all those conversations, but always going to be very comfortable and, at the end of the day, the thing I love about (head coach) Dan (Campbell) is he’s a great communicator. He keeps you in the loop on things that are going on, and everything he’s doing is to make this team better and put us in a better position to win."
For Petzing, Kafka won't be a stranger, as the two of them overlapped for one season in Minnesota in 2015. At the time, Petzing was an offensive assistant with the Vikings while Kafka was one of the quarterbacks on the roster.
Petzing discusses his past connection with Kafka
Petzing wasn't asked about that past connection with Kafka. Instead, he brought it up himself as he was discussing the Kafka hire, saying, "I knew him a little bit. I wasn’t in the quarterback room. But, you know, obviously, I was around him, got to know him a little bit, and we kind of stayed in touch loosely throughout the years."
Kafka didn't play during that season in Minnesota, but the Vikings, under then head coach Mike Zimmer, finished 11-5. This, despite having one of the least productive passing offenses in the NFL at the time, as future Lion Teddy Bridgewater threw for 3,231 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. Bridgewater was named to the Pro Bowl that year, but that Vikings' offense was clearly anchored by the running game led by also future Lion Adrian Peterson.
READ MORE: Dan Campbell may have had Mike Kafka on his mind weeks before hiring him
Petzing concluded his response to the Kafka hire by hammering home why he believes Kafka is a great addition to the Lions' staff:
"And so any time, to me, you can add somebody and, again, from a different system with maybe a little bit of a different perspective who can bring new ideas, who is a good communicator, a good teacher, and a great person, I think, you’re never going to go wrong when you can do those types of things."
It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic between Petzing and Kafka plays out, and how much that influences the Lions' new offensive scheme for the upcoming season. Until then, both will get to work with the NFL Draft Combine coming up from February 23rd to March 2nd, so expect to hear plenty more from Petzing and the rest of the coaching staff then.