he Seattle Seahawks were the NFC darlings for the 2025-26 season, not the Detroit Lions, notching a 14-3 record and a trip to the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 8. The team was not only No. 1 in the NFC West but also the top seed overall in the NFC, so they deserved the trip to the big game to take on the New England Patriots.
Now, the Seattle Seahawks may actually be lined up to poach a Detroit Lions staffer after the big game. It sounds like, but during the offseason, the Lions hired a former NFL coach, and now, an NFL insider believes the Seahawks are going to want to steal him away.
Detroit Lions Coach May Leave for Super Bowl Team
While getting a gig with the Detroit Lions is nothing to complain about, if the Seattle Seahawks, a team that made it to Super Bowl LX, comes knocking, that’s an opportunity that’s simply difficult to pass up. That may be the case with one coach hire, who’s been a feather in the cap of the Lions.
When the Lions officially hired offensive coordinator Drew Petzing in January 2026 to take over as offensive coordinator, the reaction to his hiring was lukewarm, at best. He had just wrapped up a three-year run with the Arizona Cardinals, and the team was 3-14 for the 2025-26, according to NFL statistics, which is obviously a poor record.
So, the Lions hired Petzing, but they quickly followed up that hire with former New York Giants offensive coordinator and interim coach Mike Kafka, which garnered a more positive response.
Unfortunately, the Lions could lose Kafka before the first snap of the 2026-27 season. Following the Super Bowl, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is “expected” to become the head coach of the Raiders, and in doing so, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says that Kafka could replace Kubiak in Seattle.
“Some people I’ve talked to here in San Francisco think Seattle coach Mike Macdonald will want to keep a similar, Kubiak-style system in place,” Fowler states in the piece, out on Saturday, February 7.
He adds, “Seattle was very impressed with Mike Kafka during head coach interviews two years ago. He’s now a senior assistant in Detroit and could be a name to watch.”
Post-Super Bowl Moves Are Being Made, and Detroit Lions Could Be Involved
So, following any Super Bowl, moves are made, and this year will be no exception. As Fowler explains, “Coaching dominoes will fall in Seattle after the Super Bowl. Klint Kubiak is headed to Las Vegas, and he will need an offensive coordinator.”
He also names some other candidates for the Seattle opening, so it’s not just Kafka. “Seattle quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko is a natural candidate,” Fowler states in the report. “He has been with Kubiak in Minnesota, New Orleans and Seattle. I expect him to have some traction there, or possibly in-house with Seattle.”
Fowler adds, “Offensive passing game coordinator Jake Peetz has been on the offensive coordinator cycle in recent years and could get an in-house look, too. And running backs coach Justin Outten has also come up in league circles as a potential candidate.”
Lions May Lose Coach to Super Bowl Team