Why the Detroit Lions’ Drew Petzing Hire Makes No Sense

2025 was a step back for the Detroit Lions.

Dan Campbell seemed to have fixed the endless problems plaguing Detroit. They repeated as NFC North champions, and if a few defensive issues could be fixed, the high-powered Lions offense should be enough to compete for a Super Bowl.

Between an injury bug that ran through the roster and having to replace two coordinators, things weren’t the same for the Lions this past year.

Former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson took his talents to their in-division rivals in Chicago, and he thrived in his first year at the helm.

Campbell missed his steady play-calling this past season as the Lions fell from 33 points per game to 28. But more than just points, the Lions lost the overall consistency they had grown accustomed to over the prior two years.

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was in charge of the defense last season, but with how horrible New York was this season, I’m sure he missed being in charge of the Lions' defense anyways.

Even though this season was a misstep for Detroit, they remain one of the most talented rosters in the league.

Offensive coordinator John Morton was fired at the end of the season, and his replacement will be walking into a great situation.

Detroit will play a fourth-place schedule next year, so their new coordinator will face much easier defenses in 2026. If they can nail this hire, I think the Lions will be back to the top of the NFC North in just one offseason.

That’s why the hiring of Drew Petzing makes absolutely no sense.

Petzing was the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals the past three seasons, and Arizona’s offense was middle of the road over that period of time.

This hire feels like such a disappointment, given that the Lions had been linked to Mike McDaniel all offseason. They must’ve felt that McDaniel was going to receive another opportunity as a head coach somewhere next year. If not, this move makes even less sense.

Over the last three seasons, Petzing had the Cardinals averaging 18th in the league in offensive EPA. The highest he ever had them was 10th in 2024, led by a great rushing game that season.

However, the success he found in the rush game came when he was working with Kyler Murray, a luxury he won’t have with Jared Goff in Detroit.

Maybe Petzing will find more success getting to work with Jahmyr Gibbs and potentially David Montgomery if he resigns.

No matter the case, I just don’t believe he was the best option for Detroit.

Luckily for Lions fans, Dan Campbell always seems to thrive when he has his team feeling like they’re underdogs.