The Detroit Lions have searching for a new offensive coordinator ever since they let go of offensive coordinator John Morton on January 6, after just one season with the franchise.
Morton already has a new gig, by the way, working with Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton as a consultant. He worked with the Broncos as their passing game coordinator in both 2023 and 2024, so he and Payton are tight.
Well, on Monday, January 19, news emerged that the Detroit Lions are replacing Morton with Arizona Cardinals offensive Drew Petzing as their offensive coordinator, according to NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
Kevin Patra of the NFL’s website points out that “it was a mixed bag for Petzing’s offenses in the desert. He led a top-eight offense in 2024 with a 0.3 EPA per play. However, a rash of injuries, including at quarterback and running back, and an inconsistent offensive line sank them to 24th in EPA per play in 2025 (-0.6).”
He adds, “With zero running game, the Cards became a pass-happy offense with backup Jacoby Brissett under center.”
Plus, there’s the little fact that the Cardinals are just not a good football team right now. So, why did the Lions make this decision? It’s a question that has Detroit Lions fans scratching their heads.
Detroit Lions Fans Not Happy
In addition to the NFL sources, Dianna Russini of The Athletic also sent out a message on X stating that a source told Mike Silver that Penzing is “being hired by the Lions.”
The responses to this post were not happy. “Not a single Lions fan or non Lions fans thinks this is a good hire. Convince me otherwise?” one said. “Poverty move,” another added. “Such a horrible hire lmao, I’m for it,” a Bears fans stated. “Thought the Lions were much smarter than this,” another said.
“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,” writer Jon Ledyard said on X.
Thankfully, some people like the hire, and they took to the web to voice their opinions.
Benjamin Solak of ESPN states, “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.”
Jeff Darlington of ESPN adds, “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.”
An Unexpected Move for the Detroit Lions
NFL Trade Rumors’ Logan Ulrich called the Detroit Lions hiring Petzing as offensive coordinator a surprising pick, especially with so many big and talented names available.
“The Lions were interviewing some big-named candidates for their offensive coordinator vacancy and were expected to have an in-demand opening,” Ulrich stated. “So, hiring Petzing comes as a fairly big surprise considering he hadn’t been connected to any jobs publicly so far, including Detroit.”
So, now, the Lions have given their fanbase another reason to question their loyalty. Let’s hope this hire turns out to be better than the initial response to it.
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