Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions are officially in the offseason, but that’s not stopping them from working hard, because what happens during the offseason comes out when the regular season starts. Now, one early move that Campbell and the Detroit Lions made for the 2026-27 season may be keeping Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears up at night.
The Detroit Lions have made a handful of important coaching moves already. On Monday, January 26, the team officially hired Drew Petzing as their offensive coordinator, replacing former coordinator John Morton. Then, also this week, the Detroit Lions hired former New York Giants interim head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka in a “high-ranking offensive” role for the 2026-27 season.
Before joining the Lions, Petzing spent the previous three seasons, 2023-25, as the Arizona Cardinals‘ offensive coordinator. During that time, the Arizona Cardinals ranked second in the NFL in rushing average and were ninth in rushing yards. That’s great, but, of course, the Cardinals have a losing record, so that’s a bit disconcerting.
As for Kafka, he just came off a season serving as intern head coach for the Giants, and the team went 2-5 under his direction. But, in all fairness, he was dealing with multiple injuries to key players when heading up the New York Giants.
Chicago Bears Writer Says Ben Johnson Should Be Worried
So, what does this have to do with Johnson? On Tuesday, January 27, Nick Halden from Da Windy City published a feature saying that Johnson should be “concerned” about the Lions hiring Kafka.
“Adding Kafka pushes the Lions in this direction and reminds Chicago of the need for an aggressive offseason despite the accomplishments of the past season,” Halden noted. “Both the Packers and Lions are going to look to close the gap on Chicago, as the Bears transition from the role of surprise underdog to the distinction of being defending division champs.”
He added, “Now is the moment that the coaching staff and front office must prove that this season wasn’t an outlier but a fair expectation of the years ahead.”
Kafka also made this a challenge to Johnson to switch things up during the Bears’ offseason. Not that the Bears have much to fix, but some tweaks need to be made.
“No question, Detroit hiring Kafka has to grab their attention and demand a higher sense of offseason urgency,” Halden said. “It will be interesting to see how Chicago responds to the Lions’ challenge and whether they make any major changes as a result after an exciting 2025 season.”
Detroit Lions Hire Brings a Sense of Urgency
Adding another layer to the NFC North component, for weeks there was speculation that Kafka would be a good fit for the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator role.
“It seemed the talented coach was destined to land in the NFC North after a short stint as the New York Giants interim head coach,” Halden said. “For the Bears, this is far from ideal, with Kafka’s best seasons coming at the start of the Kansas City Chiefs‘ dynasty, helping lead Patrick Mahomes to his most prolific seasons as KC’s quarterbacks coach.”
So, Kafka, more than Petzing, is drawing attention nationally for what he can bring to the Detroit Lions’ staff.
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