Why There Is Growing Optimism Lions OC Drew Petzing Will Excel

What we have learned about new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

Former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing talks to his players during training camp | Joe Rondone / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has made a solid first impression after supporters learned more about him this week.

Petzing appeared in a video produced by the team an released to season-ticket members. He also was a guest on SB Nation's "Midweek Mailbag" podcast.

The experienced coach highlighted what he believes his offense is about and relayed just how important adaptability truly is.

“The key to any offense is, it’s got to be built around the players you have. You’ve got to highlight their ability and what they do best," said Petzing. "So that’s going to be different game-to-game based on who is available. Every roster I’ve been on, it’s going to be a little different.”

In 2025, the Arizona Cardinals were forced to rely more on the passing attack, as injuries piled up.

“In that process, like anything you do, you learn a lot about yourself, you learn about the game. We changed dramatically, philosophy-wise, in terms of what we felt we needed to do to be successful based on who we had available on gameday," said Petzing. "I think as a play-caller, as a coordinator, as a coach, not that you want to be a part of a lot of those, but there’s a lot of learning to be done when you’re forced with a task like, ‘Hey, what we did no longer fits who we have.'

"It's Week 6 and we’ve got to figure out a way to score points and try to stay competitive," Petzing added. "And we did. We had to pivot and obviously became a little more pass-oriented, because of who we had and who we needed to highlight.”

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The 38-year-old has left a good impression, given his personality was able to come through in his delivered messages.

The latest 'Lone Wolves' podcast examines the growing optimism Detroit's new offensive coordinator will have more success than past coaches who have not lasted beyond one season.

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