Lions hire Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have hired Drew Petzing, their third offensive coordinator in three years.

The Lions announced the move on Monday.

Detroit fired offensive coordinator John Morton shortly after the season in a move that was expected after coach Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties midway through the season. Morton replaced Ben Johnson, who left the Lions to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears.

Campbell said after the season that he hadn’t decided whether he would continue to call plays.

Petzing was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals for the previous three years, receiving some criticism in the 2025 season for the group’s performances, particularly in the fourth quarter. Arizona did have some success statistically with Petzing over three seasons, ranking second in yards per rushing attempt and ninth in yards rushing from the 2023 through the 2025 seasons.

The 38-year-old Petzing previously was an assistant coach in the NFL for Cleveland and Minnesota.

Petzing was a defensive back at Division III Middlebury College in Vermont. After a career-ending injury, he was a student assistant for Middlebury. Petzing started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Harvard before being on the staff at Boston College and Yale.

Early in the search for a new offensive coordinator, the Lions reached out to Mike McDaniel about the opening.

However McDaniel was hired on Monday by Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers to serve as offensive coordinator.

Detroit was 9-8 and finished last in the NFC North after winning the division the previous two seasons and earning the top seed in the conference last season.

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