NFL Writer Grades Drew Petzing Hire: Is It a Home-Run?

Now that more dust has settled on the decision made by the Detroit Lions to hire new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, supporters and pundits are seeing the vision and why Dan Campbell added the veteran coach to the staff.

The former Arizona Cardinals coordinator brings with him a wealth of experience. Campbell, the coaching staff and Detroit's front office likely also valued that the 38-year-old had a vast array of coaching experiences, including coaching multiple different position groups.

CBS Sports recently graded all of the recent coordinator hires made this cycle.

Detroit earned a C+ grade for hiring a coach that previously worked with Hank Fraley and has close ties to Ben Johnson, who served as Detroit's offensive coordinator from 2022-2024.

As CBS Sports explained, "This is definitely an under-the-radar hire for the Lions, but Petzing may have been the best available offensive coordinator who wasn't in the mix for a head-coaching job. While he's only 36, Petzing has 16 years of coaching experience, including 12 in the NFL. He spent five years with the Vikings before working three seasons on Kevin Stefanski's staff in Cleveland. Petzing served as Kyler Murray's quarterbacks coach in 2022 before being named the Cardinals' offensive coordinator in 2023."

A significant factor that impacted the ability of the Cardinals' offense to meet their expectations in 2025 was key injuries to quarterback Kyler Murray and running back James Connor.

"Late in the 2023 season, Petzing's offense spearheaded Arizona's upset win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh, a game that included 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns from James Conner," writer Bryan DeArdo noted. "Injuries to Conner and Murray played a major role in Petzing's offense never reaching its full potential. He'll now get a fresh start in Detroit with an offense that isn't short on skill players."

Petzing led the Cardinals to a top-eight offense back in 2024. Unfortunately, a significant amount of injuries, and issues with the offensive line brought down the overall offensive productivity in 2025. (24th in EPA per play, -0.6).

Without a consistent rushing attack, the Cardinals offense became one-dimensional and struggled to win games. The NFC West squad finished last season with a disappointing record of 3-14.

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