The Detroit Lions have found their next offensive coordinator. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Lions will hire Drew Petzing to replace John Morton, who Detroit fired at the conclusion of the regular season.
Petzing held the offensive coordinator role with the Arizona Cardinals from 2023-25.
Insiders from NFL Network and The Athletic also reported the Lions plan to hire Petzing minutes after Schefter posted the news on X.
Petzing will assume play-calling duties for a still loaded Lions offense. Detroit has finished the past four seasons ranked in the top 5 of scoring and total yardage.
Over three seasons as Cardinals offensive coordinator, Petzing’s best statistical season came in 2024. Arizona’s offense finished 11th in yards and 12th in points during that campaign.
In 2025, without Kyler Murray for much of the season, the Cardinals were 19th in yards and 23rd in points.
NFL Trade Rumors’ Logan Ulrich characterized the Lions hiring Petzing as offensive coordinator a surprising choice.
“The Lions were interviewing some big-named candidates for their offensive coordinator vacancy and were expected to have an in-demand opening,” wrote Ulrich. “So, hiring Petzing comes as a fairly big surprise considering he hadn’t been connected to any jobs publicly so far, including Detroit.”
Lions Hire Drew Petzing as Next Offensive Coordinator
Pundits linked some of the biggest names on the coaching market to the Lions open coordinator role this offseason. That included former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.
But the Lions may be trying to find the next Ben Johnson with the Petzing hire. Petzing and Johnson coached together at Boston College from 2010-11, each starting as graduate assistants.
Johnson served as the Lions offensive coordinator in Dan Campbell’s first four seasons as Detroit head coach. In Johnson’s final two seasons, the Lions posted an overall 27-7 record.
In 2024, the Lions were first in points and second in yards on their way to an NFC-best 15-2 mark.
But Johnson left to be the Chicago Bears head coach last year. This offseason, the Lions parted ways with Morton after his first year as the team’s offensive coordinator.
The Lions fell back to fourth in points and fifth in yards during 2025. Campbell assumed play-calling duties from Morton at about the midseason point.
Who is Lions New OC Drew Petzing?
Petzing will arrive in Detroit with 13 years of NFL coaching experience. He made the jump to the NFL after coaching linebackers at Yale in 2012.
His first NFL job was as an intern with the Cleveland Browns. He then served on the Minnesota Vikings staff in a variety of offensive roles from 2014-19.
Petzing returned to Cleveland to become the team’s tight ends coach in 2020. After two years in that role, he also coached quarterbacks under Kevin Stefanski during the 2022 season.
Petzing was offensive coordinator for the Cardinals in all three of Jonathan Gannon’s seasons with the team. Arizona parted ways with Gannon following the 2025 campaign.
The Cardinals were seventh in passing yards and passing touchdowns during the 2025 season even though Jacoby Brissett started most of their games. Arizona, though, led the NFL in passing attempts.
Petzing will have a much better collection of talent to work with, particularly at running back, in Detroit next season. The Lions will be trying to bounce back after finishing 2025 with an 8-9 record.
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