Execs More Concerned About Detroit Lions Coaches Than 2026 Roster

This offseason for the Detroit Lions was about getting younger and retooling a roster that featured a solid core group of players.

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The first phase of free agency saw the team bolster the secondary and add depth to several key position groups.

While the front office did not offer up many long-term contracts to free agents, the objective of adding competition on both sides of the football was met.

In a recent piece that highlighted NFL executives discussing free agency, the Lions' 2026 roster was not the primary area of concern.

“The biggest questions with Detroit remain on the coaching staff,” an exec shared, via The Athletic. “Let’s see what (Drew) Petzing and (Mike) Kafka are able to infuse in terms of better ideas, better execution, more creative play calling or whatever.”

Dan Campbell shared recently his excitement level about the new additions on offenses.

"Kafka, interim head coach, OC, coached quarterbacks. I just feel like the sky is the limit for him," said Campbell. "He’s been a great addition, he’s gonna be a great addition moving forward.”

A different executive highlighted what many thought about free agency, indicating the team did not do anything significantly notable.

“To me, they did not do anything notable from a personnel standpoint outside of some special teams guys they added, which I think were pretty good for them,” the exec explained.

Evaluating what went wrong in 2025 and figuring out how to fix it

Detroit has now completed their review of last season. The coaching staff and front office are now tasked with learning from past mistakes, but at the same time not veering off too much from what has made the team successful the last few seasons.

Speaking with Fox 2 Detroit, Campbell shared the challenges of identifying areas to improve, while also remaining true to core tenets.

“You always have to go back and look at yourself and say, ‘Alright, what did we do well? What did we not?’ We’ve got to be careful," said Campbell. "Yeah, we’ve won some games here, but this could be an issue. This could be an issue the further you go, you get into the playoffs and things of that nature. It’s no secret when you get to where we were last year, or when you fall to where we went to, it makes you hyper focused on looking at everything from top to bottom."

While Detroit still had a winning record last season, the coaching staff and front office has still fully evauated what went right for the team and areas that must be improved.

"Even in the things you think you know, you’re not gonna take that for granted. No, no, no, we’re gonna look at every little thing," said Campbell. "But at the same time, don’t overreact because ultimately we were one play away from getting in the playoffs, and once you get in anything can happen.”