Following their disappointing 9-8 season that ultimately failed to yield a postseason spot, the Detroit Lions parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton, who had his play-calling duties stripped by head coach Dan Campbell midway through the campaign.
The search was officially on for the next offensive coordinator who would hopefully resurrect some of the magic worked by former OC Ben Johnson, who departed to take the head coaching position with the Chicago Bears.
While the Lions were linked to former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and even interviewed him, they ultimately went in a different direction.
Arriving in town to take the job is former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who had worked under then-head coach Jonathan Gannon.
The move has puzzled many who thought that McDaniel was the ideal candidate that would fit in well with Detroit.
According to ESPN NFL Insider Jeff Darlington, the Lions ultimately decided that McDaniel didn’t represent the “right fit” they were looking for in a new OC.
“Of coordinator jobs that Mike McDaniel has interviewed for, the Lions gig was the least likely to materialize,” he wrote on X. “Campbell liked McDaniel a lot, but Lions didn’t view it as quite the right fit for them. As for other OC vacancies? Mike is very much in play. Ball is in his court.”
In the meantime, McDaniel continues the search for his next job.
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The Detroit Lions Did Not Hire Mike McDaniel For Their Offensive Coordinator Position Despite Interviewing Him
Despite interviewing McDaniel for the position, the Lions ultimately decided that he wasn’t the correct fit for their team, and instead hired Drew Petzing.
Earlier in the month while speaking to media members, Lions general manager Brad Holmes detailed what sort of attributes they were looking for in their new OC.
“You just have to be able to know that they’re somebody that’s gonna be able to dot every ‘i,’ cross every ‘t,’ and make sure that nothing is compromised from a detail standpoint, from a standard standpoint, from the start of the game-planning period all the way to the end of the week. We’re just looking for that type of person,” Holmes said.
“I do think a lot of it is just — you gotta get in front of them, hear them out, spend some time with them and kind of hear their ideas, hear their philosophy, do a lot of vetting — as much vetting as you can — and just make the decision,” Holmes added. “I think when you go through the process of getting in front of them, when you know, you know.”
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Drew Petzing Is The Lions New Offensive Coordinator
Petzing arrives in Detroit after having been with the Arizona Cardinals for the last three seasons.
He has previous experience in other NFL markets, having worked for both the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns, coaching tight ends and quarterbacks under Kevin Stefanski.
He’ll take over an offense that features Jared Goff at quarterback, star wideouts Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams along with Jahmyr Gibbs leading the ground attack.
NFL Insider Reveals Why Lions Chose Not To Hire Mike McDaniel