Ben Johnson Drew Petzing
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Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson raved about the Detroit Lions hiring Drew Petzing as their next offensive coordinator.
The Detroit Lions weren’t successful in their first attempt to replace former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The Lions have already parted ways with 2025 OC John Morton.
The Lions will try again with Drew Petzing as offensive coordinator in 2026. Ironically, Johnson sees it as a terrific hire.
Johnson raved about Petzing while speaking to The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett.
“I think he’s going to blow those players away just from a knowledge standpoint, from a connection standpoint,” Johnson told Birkett. “I fully expect that offense to be clicking at a high level next year.
“It wouldn’t surprise me one bit, and I think there’s a reason why Dan [Campbell], from what I could gather, cast a wide net for the offensive coordinator job, and Drew [Petzing] hit the right notes in terms of what he was looking for. That doesn’t surprise me.
“I could see this being a great fit knowing Dan and knowing Drew both. I think it’s probably a match made in heaven.”
Petzing arrived in Detroit this offseason after three years as the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator.
Johnson left his role as Lions OC to becoming the Chicago Bears head coach last year.
Ben Johnson Highly Complimentary of Drew Petzing
It’s important to note Johnson and Petzing are close friends. Petzing was a groomsman at Johnson’s wedding.
So, it’s not surprising Johnson had great things to say about Petzing.
Still, Johnson’s public praise being so high is noteworthy, especially with Petzing filling his former job for a division rival.
The initial fan reaction to the Lions hiring Petzing was overly negative. Petzing didn’t have a lot of success as Cardinals offensive coordinator. The unit’s best statistical season with Petzing as play-caller was 2024 when the offense was 11th in yards and 12th in points.
But the Cardinals lacked talent, especially when stars such as Kyler Murray and James Conner suffered injuries in 2025.
The Cardinals offense also got little support from its defense or special teams. Arizona led the league in passing attempts last season with backup signal-caller Jacoby Brissett starting 12 games.
Petzing’s Relationship With Johnson
Lions head coach Dan Campbell has never previously worked with Petzing. But Johnson served under Campbell with the Lions and Miami Dolphins for eight years.
It’s possible Campbell connected to Petzing this offseason through Johnson.
Johnson’s relationship with Petzing dates even further back than his time with Campbell. The former Lions offensive coordinator and the team’s current OC were both graduate assistants at Boston College in 2010.
They worked two years together as young, lower-level assistants for the ACC program.
Petzing landed an internship with the Cleveland Browns in 2013. He then became an offensive assistant for the Minnesota Vikings in 2014.
From 2014-22, he filled a variety of offensive roles for the Vikings and Browns before landing his first offensive coordinator gig with the Cardinals.
In 2025, Arizona finished the season ranked 19th in yards and 23rd in points scored. The Cardinals were also seventh in passing yards and seventh in passing touchdowns while leading the league in passes.