Cardinals' Drew Petzing, Lions Agree to OC Contract for Dan Campbell's Staff

Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions have their next offensive coordinator.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero first reported Jan. 19 that Detroit hired former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing for the position, which the Lions confirmed on Monday.

The position was vacant because Detroit parted ways with John Morton after just one season. While he had experience from his time on staffs for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets and Denver Broncos, he was unable to fully replicate Ben Johnson's success after the former Lions OC became the head coach of the Chicago Bears.

The Lions reportedly also hired Mike Kafka to a "high-ranking offensive staff role," per Pelissero. Kafka spent four seasons as the New York Giants offensive coordinator before taking over as interim coach last season following the firing of Brian Daboll.

Detroit finished in the top five in the league in points and yardage in each of Johnson's three seasons as the OC and made the playoffs in two of them. It also led the league in scoring in his final season.

Yet the Lions missed the playoffs entirely this past season, although it was difficult to blame an offense that finished fourth in scoring and fifth in yardage. It wasn't quite the numbers of Johnson's tenure, but the group was still among the best in the league.

▶️ Full Lions-Bears Recap

06:35

Morton, though, was stripped of playcalling duties in November when Campbell took over.

Enter Petzing, who will surely be expected to have a productive offense right away with personnel that includes Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs.

The veteran coach has been on staffs for the Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings and Cardinals and was Arizona's OC the last three years. The peak of his time as OC came in 2024 when Arizona finished 12th in scoring and 11th in yardage, but the group was just 23rd in scoring and 19th in yardage this past season.

Arizona also didn't have the offensive firepower that Detroit will, so Petzing will look to capitalize on the talent he will now be working with and lead the Lions back to the playoffs.