Detroit Lions 2026 Coach Profile: Drew Petzing
· Yahoo Sports
As the first week of training camp comes to a close, the Detroit Lions have completed three practices while dealing with only a handful of minor injuries. Instead of focusing on training camp, this article wraps up my 2026 profile series by taking a closer look at Detroit’s new offensive coordinator, Drew Petzing.
Petzing arrives in Detroit after spending the last three seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive coordinator. At 38 years old, he brings nearly two decades of coaching experience at both the college and NFL levels.
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His coaching career began in 2009 as a volunteer assistant at Harvard before spending one season at Boston College. During his time at Boston College, Petzing developed a close relationship with current Lions head coach Ben Johnson. The two coached together, and Petzing even served as one of Johnson’s groomsmen.
Petzing entered the NFL in 2013 as an intern with the Cleveland Browns before joining the Minnesota Vikings in 2014 as an offensive assistant under head coach Mike Zimmer. During his six seasons in Minnesota, he steadily climbed the coaching ranks, serving as assistant wide receivers coach, assistant quarterbacks coach and eventually wide receivers coach.
From 2020-22, Petzing returned to Cleveland, where he worked under head coach Kevin Stefanski as the Browns’ tight ends coach before moving to quarterbacks coach. In 2023, he was hired by Jonathan Gannon to become the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator, a role he held through the 2025 season.
During his three years calling Arizona’s offense, the Cardinals experienced mixed results. They finished 24th, 12th and 23rd in scoring offense from 2023-25. Their best offensive season came in 2024, when Arizona averaged 23.5 points per game, ranking 12th in the NFL, while finishing 11th in total offense with 358 yards per game.
Advanced metrics tell a similar story. The Cardinals ranked 23rd, 10th and 22nd in expected points added (EPA) per play from 2023-25. Their passing offense ranked 20th, 12th and 27th in EPA per dropback, while their rushing attack ranked 29th, eighth and seventh in EPA per rush.
One area where Petzing consistently found success was the running game. Arizona finished fourth in rushing yards in 2023 and seventh in 2024. The Cardinals also ranked second in the NFL in yards per carry in each of those seasons, averaging 5.0 yards per rush in 2023 and an impressive 5.3 yards per carry in 2024.
Petzing also played a significant role in the development of tight end Trey McBride, who emerged as one of the league’s premier players at the position under his guidance. McBride developed into one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends, becoming a focal point of Arizona’s passing attack.
Throughout his career, Petzing has worked under respected head coaches, including Mike Zimmer, Kevin Stefanski and Jonathan Gannon. Those experiences have helped shape an offensive philosophy built around a physical rushing attack, efficient quarterback play and maximizing the strengths of his personnel.
Now, Petzing inherits one of the NFL’s most talented offensive rosters in Detroit. With Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta at his disposal, the expectation is that he can build on the success the Lions have enjoyed in recent seasons while putting his own stamp on one of the league’s most explosive offenses.