The Detroit Lions handed Drew Petzing the keys to their offense on Monday, hiring him to be the team’s next offensive coordinator after three years in the same role for the Arizona Cardinals.
Petzing will take over for John Morton, who was fired after one season after having playcalling duties taken away by head coach Dan Campbell in Week 10.
Petzing has never worked with Campbell before and most recently commanded the NFL’s 21st ranked offense in estimated points added per play. Arizona was 19th in the NFL in yards per game and 24th in total points in 2025.
Those are not the most inspiring numbers at first glance, but a gander at Petzing’s background and coaching style makes the fit in Detroit much more apparent.
Petzing's fit could be great for Lions offense
Petzing’s first NFL job was an internship with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 before spending six years in various offensive assistant roles on Mike Zimmer’s staff with the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-19. He worked under offensive coordinator Norv Turner until Turner’s departure in 2016 and alongside Kevin Stefanski, a longtime member of Minnesota’s staff from 2009-19.
Stefanski brought Petzing to Cleveland in 2020 when he became head coach of the Browns. Petzing was the team’s tight ends coach for two years and the quarterbacks coach in 2022 before taking the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator job.
Another connection that should be interesting for Lions fans - and maybe was for Campbell - is his relationship with Ben Johnson, as they worked together on Boston College’s staff as graduate assistants in 2010 and are close friends to this day. Petzing was a groomsman at Johnson’s wedding.
Petzing also spent three years coaching with current Lions run game coordinator and offensive line coach Hank Fraley in Minnesota from 2014-16 when Fraley was the Vikings’ assistant offensive line coach. That relationship is an important one as the two men will be tasked with reviving Detroit’s running game in 2026, which dropped off quite a bit from its dominant self from 2023-24.
Perhaps more than anywhere else, Petzing has made his name as an NFL playcaller for his rushing schemes. Arizona ranked in the top seven in rushing yards per game during both of his first two seasons as offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024, before falling all the way to 31st in 2025. They were also second in the NFL in yards per carry in both 2023 and 2024 before finishing 16th in 2025.
The season-ending injury to running back James Conner in Week 3 had a lot to do with the decline, as well as significant injuries along the offensive line and to the team’s reserve running backs Trey Benson and Bam Knight.
Detroit’s offensive line was inconsistent at best and abysmal at worst in 2025, and there’s a lot to sort out with that group this offseason. But the Lions still have Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and if they can bolster the line, Petzing could lead a run game resurgence in Detroit.
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In the passing game, Petzing has prioritized under-center looks and high rates of play-action, both of which are already staples for Campbell’s Lions. It ultimately wasn’t the best fit for Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, but that kind of approach should fit Jared Goff like a glove.
Arizona ran the eighth most 12 personnel and the third most 13 personnel in the league in 2025, and ranked 25th and 4th in EPA for each grouping respectively. The Lions have one of the NFL’s best tight ends in Sam LaPorta and one of the better No. 2s in Brock Wright, so there’s room for some heavier sets to be run in Detroit.
Albeit, more 11 personnel is to be expected with Detroit’s talented wide receiver duo of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, especially if Isaac TeSlaa takes a second-year leap.
The Lions have arguably the NFL’s best nucleus of skill position players in the NFL, and any playcaller would be like a kid in a candy store scheming up ways to get everybody involved. Petzing has a lot at his disposal, even if Detroit still needs to improve its offensive line.
It’s not the splashiest hire in the world, but Petzing’s philosophy of blending the passing game with the running game, lining up under center and playing physically up front matches the identity that Campbell wants his offense to have.
There’s plenty of reason to see this as a good fit, and Detroit will need it to click sooner rather than later. The Lions got the Morton hire wrong, cannot afford to miss on another coordinator if they want to return to the postseason and beyond in 2025.