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The Detroit Lions’ hiring of former Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing as their next OC—while not official yet—caught many fans and analysts off guard when news broke on Monday afternoon. Although
he reportedly interviewed with the team last week, per Dave Birkett, that news didn’t leak to the public, so his name was not on most fans’ radar. Therefore he wasn’t the subject of much research done in regards to the Lions’ vacancy. Given that he also has no direct ties to coach Dan Campbell, he didn’t come across in many lists of potential candidates for- the job.
So if you’re looking to cram as much knowledge about Petzing as possible, you’ve come to the right place. Below is a smattering of reactions from NFL analysts, reporters, former players and coaches who have worked under him, and other analysts of the Lions’ hiring to get to know the newest Lions coach.
Former co-workers
Petzing worked closely with now-Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski. They worked together for six season with the Minnesota Vikings. Then when Stefanski head-manned the Browns,
he hired Petzing as their new tight ends coach in 2020. Here’s what he had to say at the time:
“I think he’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around. I say that because he coached defense in college, he’s moved to the offensive side of the ball, been in the running backs room, the wide receivers room, the quarterbacks room. I think that type of breadth of experience is really important as you’re developing as a young coach. I think anybody who has been around him sees somebody that has a great knowledge of the game.”
And here’s former Vikings wide receiver Jarius Wright—who was coached directly by Petzing—talking about the coach in
a great profile from The Athletic in 2023:
“He’s very, very intelligent. If you give him a school book, he would make all A’s. You would think that wouldn’t translate so much to football. But if you gave him any test to know any play, any position on offense, he would know it, every single thing about it. And that was as an assistant. We knew at some point he was going to make it and be an OC.”
Expert, analysts reaction to Lions hiring of Drew Petzing
Here’s a bunch of scattered thoughts from various experts on Twitter:
Cardinals beat writer Darren Urban (
@Cardschatter) thinks new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will fit Detroit well. Hear my full interview with Drew here:
https://t.co/ngyhz2ED4gpic.twitter.com/xDwXVWHcoW
— Jeremy Otto (@JeremyOttoPxP)
January 19, 2026
people are going to demand to know who else was offered and who said what and etc etc …
… but before you start all that do know that Drew Petzing was a good playcaller with the Cardinals. Creative run game, fun with TEs, Stefanski guy. Not hard to see why DC likes him.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner)
January 19, 2026
I'm very surprised the Lions didn't land someone with more pedigree than Petzing, who wasn't the same without Klayton Adams last year.
But if he plans to bring some of the 2024 Cardinals run game plan to Detroit, I can see the vision.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft)
January 19, 2026
With the Lions hiring Drew Petzing as their next OC, it's worth pointing out that he worked with Lions OL coach Hank Fraley from 2014-17 in Minnesota.
So there is a working relationship between the new OC and the current run game coordinator.
— Erik Schlitt (@erikschlitt)
January 19, 2026
Petzing makes sense in terms of structure and offensive preference. i.e. under center and more “traditional”. Goff a great fit for his type of passing game.
run game fell off post-Klayton Adams, but the OL and RBs rooms were a mess and Hank Fraley is already in the building.
https://t.co/SWuBd84vSq
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice)
January 19, 2026
I think the best compliment I can give Petzing is that everything he does is sound. There are times when there could be more creativity with his passing game, but it’s not egregious and the play designs still made sense.
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice)
January 19, 2026
The connection to draw on new Lions OC Drew Petzing: He and Detroit run-game coordinator Hank Fraley were young assistants together in Minnesota from 2014-16. The Lions very much value Fraley—they fought to keep him from going to Seattle last year—so his influence is there.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer)
January 19, 2026
This is an extremely fine hire. Petzing was largely more good than bad in Arizona. Running game lost some juice when Klayton Adams left but Detroit already has Hank Fraley in hand.
https://t.co/IA0WO3GPne
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak)
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
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
This makes a lot of sense. The 2023 and 2024 Cardinals offenses under Drew Petzing spoke Lions/Dan Campbell football: heavier personnel, physical (and good!) run game, and a versatile Tight End Room led by a stud
https://t.co/zofUjSD0fx
— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant)
January 19, 2026
Cardinals personnel usage from 2023-25, per TruMedia
11 personnel: 53.7 (26th)
12 personnel: 25.9 percent (7th)
13 personnel: 12.5 percent (1st)
https://t.co/hhF0wfoSTn
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy)
January 19, 2026
Obviously there's gonna be some nuance to these numbers, but here's a quick look at how Drew Petzing's offenses have ranked over the last three seasons in Arizona.
All stats from
@NextGenStats.
pic.twitter.com/6EmVmQR3lH
— Richard Silva (@rich_silva18)
January 19, 2026
And one more for the Mike McDaniel fans out there:
Of coordinator jobs that Mike McDaniel has interviewed for, the Lions gig was the least likely to materialize. 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.
https://t.co/urG1cDmg4T
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington)
January 19, 2026
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