Lions Surprisingly Hire Former Cardinals Play-Caller

This former Arizona Cardinals play-caller still will be a coordinator in 2026.

Sep 10, 2023; Landover, Maryland, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing walks on the sideline before the game against the Washington Commanders at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-Imagn Images | Brent Skeen-Imagn Images

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals move into the offseason needing to find their next head coach and coordinators for both sides of the ball, though their former offensive play-caller already has a new home.

According to multiple reports, the Detroit Lions are hiring former Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing to serve in the same role.

The Lions are hiring Drew Petzing as their offensive coordinator, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

Petzing, 38, kept Arizona’s offense afloat this past season despite a rash of injuries, including at QB. Now, a huge opportunity with Detroit’s high-octane offense. pic.twitter.com/DViqn2d5cC

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 19, 2026

Petzing served as Arizona's offensive coordinator since 2023 after joining Jonathan Gannon's staff. His contract ran out at the end of the season and since Gannon was fired, his presence was not expected back.

Petzing now heads to an exciting Lions offense that features names such as Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta.

Petzing's offense in the desert wasn't able to initially get going in 2023 as Kyler Murray was still recovering from a torn ACL suffered near the end of the prior season. Murray returned towards the back half of 2023 and showed some promise under Petzing, who helped Arizona secure road wins over teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.

2024 saw the Cardinals add Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick, giving hope that their offense would take the next step with a fully healthy Murray. Arizona started out 6-4 and claimed the top spot in the NFC West thanks to a strong mix of run and play-action usage under Petzing's watch, though their second half collapse of the season (which ultimately saw them miss the playoffs) was attributed to Petzing's inability to adapt over the course of the year.

The Cardinals didn't make any sweeping changes to their offense in 2025, banking on continuity to take Arizona to new heights. That didn't work, as Arizona flamed out to a 3-14 record with multiple injuries and underperformance across the board.

Even if Gannon stayed, Petzing was heavily rumored to be out of Arizona following the 2025 season.

Arizona's offense didn't score over 30 points once this past year and ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of yards (325.8) and points (20.9) per game.

Gannon was always defensive of Petzing when speaking with reporters, though that was a given as Gannon never favored throwing his players or coaches under the bus in a public setting.

Perhaps his run in Detroit will be different, though Petzing's three-year tenure in the desert won't exactly be remembered in promising light.