The Detroit Lions finally have their new offensive coordinator in Drew Petzing of the Arizona Cardinals, but that pick isn’t exactly what the fanbase wanted, so the team has been in hot water ever since the hire on Monday, January 19. Now, amid all the drama, the Detroit Lions have announced some Aidan Hutchinson news that should take the attention of their new offensive coordinator, at least for a moment.
No matter how rough this season got, Hutchinson has been a positive voice in the Detroit Lions. “I think every week we’re challenged, win or loss,” Hutchinson said back in November. “Obviously, coming off a loss, you know, you’ve got to get that win. But every week in the NFL is a challenge, and you’ve got to get after ’em.”
After the team’s win over Washington that month, Hutchinson added, “It’s huge, monumental. We really played really well today defensively, with everybody together, and I’m happy. But we got Philly next week, so we’ll be looking at that.”
Now, Hutchinson is close to getting a major honor. If all goes well, he’ll be officially presented with this honor in February.
Detroit Lions Aidan Hutchison News Emerges
On Thursday, January 22, the Detroit Lions announced that Hutchinson is up for not one but two awards from the NFL. Hutchinson is nominated for Comeback Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
During the 2025-26 season, Hutchinson led all edge rushers with 100 total pressures and set a career high with 14.5 sacks, which tied Ezekiel Ansah’s record in 2015 for the second-most sacks a Detroit Lions player has secured in a single season, behind only Robert Porcher with 15.0 in 1999. He also finished as the fourth highest graded edge rusher by Pro Football Focus.
Winners of the Comeback Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year will be announced during the NFL Honors event on Thursday, Feb. 5 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco during Super Bowl week and will be aired at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and NFL Network. Also, streaming will be available on Peacock and NFL Plus.
Aidan Hutchinson News Distracts From OC Hire
People are still scratching their heads over the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator hire. NFL Trade Rumors’ Logan Ulrich called the Detroit Lions hiring Petzing as offensive coordinator a surprising move, especially with so many high-profile and talented names were available.
“The Lions were interviewing some big-named candidates for their offensive coordinator vacancy and were expected to have an in-demand opening,” Ulrich stated in a feature that came out right after the pick. “So, hiring Petzing comes as a fairly big surprise considering he hadn’t been connected to any jobs publicly so far, including Detroit.”
On the Wednesday, January 21, episode of the St. Brown Podcast, the Lions receiver asked fans who were unhappy with the pick if they have trust in Dan Campbell.
“I see crazy Lions fans talking crazy, like, ‘Oh, why would we do this?’ Like, bro, do you guys have no trust in Dan, in the Lions?” St. Brown said. “You think they would just hire a random dude? You think they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t do their research, they don’t interview?”
He added, “Most of you guys don’t know really much about anything, about any ball, and you’re tweeting about a coach that was hired that you guys don’t like because X, Y, Z.”
Aidan Hutchinson News Surfaces Amid Controversial OC Hire