Amon-Ra St. Brown Had Blunt Response to Critics of Lions’ Latest OC Hire

The Lions hired Drew Petzing as their next offensive coordinator.

Amon-Ra St. Brown stood up for the Lions hiring Drew Petzing as their new offensive coordinator. | Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Lions have officially hired Drew Petzing as the team’s new offensive coordinator.

Following the departure of Ben Johnson, the Lions tabbed John Morton as offensive coordinator, but after that hiring didn’t prove as successful as they hoped and Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties, Morton was fired.

Now, Petzing will take over as the Lions offensive coordinator after spending the last three seasons as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator. While the Cardinals’ results over the past three years—including a 15–36 record—don’t necessarily inspire excitement, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown feels some Lions fans have been too critical of the hire.

"Do you guys have no trust in Dan (Campbell)? Do you think they'd just hire a random dude?"

Amon-Ra St. Brown has a message for those criticizing the hire of Drew Petzing as the new offensive coordinator for the Lions 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/PRwnGnRcM6

— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) January 21, 2026

"I see crazy Lions fans talking crazy. ‘Oh why would we do this?’ Bro, do you guys have no trust in Dan [Campbell], in the Lions? Do you think they'd just hire a random dude? Be for real,” St. Brown said on his podcast. “You think they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t do their research, they don’t interview? Most of you guys don’t really know much about anything, about any ball, and you’re tweeting about a coach that was hired that you guys don’t like because of X, Y, Z. It’s just funny for me to see. Don’t get me wrong I love all Lions fans, but they are so quick to make judgments about who we hired. Bro, just relax. Calm down, let the whole thing play out.”

The Cardinals were certainly not one of the most explosive offenses, but there are reasons for optimism about Petzing. In 2023 and ‘24, the Cardinals ranked top-five in rushing yards per game. That number plummeted to 31st in the NFL this season, in part because of injuries to their running backs room, including to James Conner.

Petzing’s passing offenses did see greater statistical success this season, finishing seventh in passing yards per game with Jacoby Brissett throwing for a career-high 3,366 yards in 14 games and 12 starts. (Granted, a number of those yards came in garbage time.)

The expectations might not be high for Petzing among the fanbase in Detroit but the Lions will hope that he brings more consistency to the offense, particularly in the running game.

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