In a move that didn’t come as a surprise to much of anyone, the Detroit Lions parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton after just one season on the job shortly after their 2025 campaign came to a close without a berth in the NFL playoffs.
Morton, who was hired as the replacement last offseason for Ben Johnson, had his play calling duties taken away from him by head coach Dan Campbell midway through the season, so their split seemed inevitable.
In Morton’s place, the Lions have hired former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
The Lions, who are now in the midst of OTA’s at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, have already gotten a good impression of Petzing in his short time with the organization.
Detroit Lions Quarterback Jared Goff Gives First Initial Impression Of OC Drew Petzing
According to Lions quarterback Jared Goff, the transition to working under Drew Petzing has been nothing but smooth sailing so far.
“He’s got a great feel for what it’s like to run an offense and run a room and how to balance volume with intentionally attacking a defense,” Goff said. “There’s a lot more to it than just drawing up plays, and he’s got that extra part to it.”
Jared Goff Initially Called The Hiring Of Drew Petzing A “Home Run”
Not long after the hiring of Petzing was announced, Goff offered his initial takes on the new offensive coordinator, and gave it his stamp of approval.
“Yeah, I’ve watched a ton of it,” the QB said of Petzing’s offense. “I’m excited, man. Been on the phone with him and gone through some things. He’s very smart, very bright, can speak it, can say it, understands what I’m talking about. Really excited.”
“He’s done it before. He’s been a coordinator. He’s called plays,” Goff said. “And I think he was a home run hire. And I’m really excited for him.”
“The way he’s able to move things around and be versatile and the run game, the pass game, marrying it all together, I think that’s another big component I didn’t hit. Like that cohesion for us of like play action and all that stuff that we’re so good at.”
Last season, Goff earned his fifth career Pro-Bowl selection after throwing for 4,564 passing yards with 34 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. The good news is that he feels as though Petzing’s personality and coaching style should mesh well with the rest of the offense.
“I think he’s got the right personality and demeanor and teaching ability and, most importantly, his intelligence and mental dexterity, for lack of a better word, to be able to kind of handle not only, like, the complexities of what we’re going to try to do but, like, getting the ball to guys,” Goff said. “That’s the hardest part of our offense. We have so many mouths to feed, and being able to spread it around in an efficient way. And that’s just a pass game, right? Then you go to the run game, and I know that’s something he’s done well for a long time. But yeah, it’s gonna be fun. I’m excited for him, and I’m excited to work with him.”
Lions QB Jared Goff Opens Up About Transition To Drew Petzing