Detroit Lions fans react to Drew Petzing offensive coordinator hire

[ASFN Admin]

After multiple weeks of interviews with offensive coordinator candidates, the Detroit Lions are hiring Drew Petzing as the franchise's next offensive coordinator. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the expectation during OC interviews was that Lions head coach Dan Campbell would relinquish playcalling to his new hire.

Petzing brings playcalling experience into the seat in Detroit. Petzing served as the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator each of the past three seasons under former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.

The Cardinals boasted the NFL's No. 2 yards per carry offense in both 2023 and 2024 and finished with the NFL's No. 19, No. 11 and No. 19 total offenses and the league's No. 24, No. 12 and No. 23 scoring offenses across the 2023-25 seasons.

While he is a well-seasoned option, the initial social media reaction from Lions fans to the breaking news ranges from alarming to promising, especially given the franchise's prized talent at this critical juncture:

There's a lot of Lions people telling on themselves right now. Bashing the hire of a guy that they know nothing about nor have they ever turned on the film. They won't even bother to see how it correlates on the field and will ignore that Drew Petzing had Josh Dobbs and Jacoby…

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) January 19, 2026

Let me be the first to say something that 99-plus percent of Detroit Lions fans should be willing to admit: I have no clue whether Drew Petzing is a good hire.

— Chris Iott (@Chris_Iott) January 19, 2026

That doesn’t look like Mike McDaniel https://t.co/cVDEMEojk0

— Natalie Sparbeck (@NatSparbeck) January 19, 2026

I can’t lie. I don’t know. Bears interviewed him for their HC job last year so not like he was off NFL radars even if he wasn’t linked to this search up here. Just comes down to whether you trust Dan to identify young coaching talent or not. https://t.co/rF5frVzbGe

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) January 19, 2026

I think the Detroit Lions have allergic reactions to just hiring the BEST candidate for a job. Petzing may be okay, but he isn't the Top 3 best candidate

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) January 19, 2026

Great initiative by Detroit. I’m sure Drew Petzing was in incredible demand.

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) January 19, 2026

Anthony Lynn
John Morton
Drew Petzing?????

i really hope you got this one right Dan…. pic.twitter.com/ogXWyjW3p5

— AMONG US ST BROWN (@That1LionsFan) January 19, 2026

Man… Hiring @danorlovsky7 would’ve been WAAAAAAYYYY cooler https://t.co/6k9PJxgdgf

— Evan Fox (@evanfoxy) January 19, 2026

The Lions hiring Drew Petzing is an absolute disaster.

One of the worst offensive coordinators in football while with the Cardinals.

— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) January 19, 2026

After further review of our new OC, I want to scream!!

— Johnny Agar (@agar_john) January 19, 2026

Underwhelming https://t.co/o9OpR4h5NG

— Chris Castellani (@Castellani2014) January 19, 2026

Seems like the Lions are hoping Drew Petzing will be their next Ben Johnson?

Petzing was the best man in Ben’s wedding while Johnson was a groomsman in Petzing’s wedding. (According to Google)

So you think Ben put in a good word with Dan to hire Petzing?

Is that good or bad?

— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) January 19, 2026

I’ve been a distant supporter of Drew Petzing since he was hired by the Cardinals from the Browns, and I know @Nate_Tice has as well.

Much like Ben Johnson, Petzing spent time as a tight ends coach in Cleveland under Kevin Stefanski, with additional experience coaching QBs there… https://t.co/2AcZNbHYAt

— Al Karsten (@FootballGuy_Al) January 19, 2026

Initial thought:

How many guys under 40 have 3 years of OC experience and have coached WRs, QBs, and TEs in his career?

Strong resume. https://t.co/ENqmAACaW9

— Between The Numbers - Anthony (@Btwn_TheNumbers) January 19, 2026

Really good in the run game. Tight ends are a premium position.
Play action game is solid as well. https://t.co/CDIkvxOarS

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 19, 2026

You guys are gonna hate me, but I like it

— Mike Payton (@AtoZ_Payton) January 19, 2026

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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Detroit Lions fans react to Drew Petzing offensive coordinator hire

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