Make no mistake, Dan Campbell is risking it all with the Lions’ OC hire
The Lions took a swing, it has to connect.
Let’s start here: I think the Detroit Lions should have hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as their next offensive coordinator.
The fit there just seemed to make so much sense. But the Lions did not feel that way, and that doesn’t mean the Drew Petzing hire was a bad one. Not at all. Petzing actually gives the Lions everything they’re asking for in theory, but…
Dan Campbell and the Lions are risking it all with the hiring of Drew Petzing
Let’s call a spade a spade. Last year’s offensive coordinator search was a colossal failure from the outset. The Lions chose to interview one candidate, move on from some of the younger coaches they had been grooming, and go with John Morton. Immediately, that looked like a hire that did not fit, and it proved so by Week 10 of the 2025 season.
The Lions broadened their search this time, but it was during a time in which 10 teams were also looking for a new offensive coordinator, and instead of hiring the guy everyone wanted, or the second guy everyone wanted, or the third guy everyone wanted, the Lions hired the guy nobody was even thinking about. And they did it in such a consequential offseason in which they needed to score big during a time when it’s safe to say that nobody is completely safe.
It made Lions fans feel very bad. Don’t get it twisted: this business isn’t about foregoing the decision you feel is the best just to give fans a hit of dopamine. That is a bad model that often fails, but the expectation from everyone with a pulse was that the Lions would just make the dopamine move because it was the one they also felt good about.
The Lions are in a position where they need to prove that they’re not a flash in the pan. A team that had three killer seasons, but couldn’t capitalize on them. So this hire meant everything. The Lions needed to make sure that they could get their offense right back on schedule and evolve it at the same time, and maybe Petzing can do that. His history certainly suggests he fits Detroit well.
But if he doesn’t, fans won’t be as forgiving as they were with Morton. Sheila Ford Hamp probably isn’t either. I’m not saying that if this doesn’t work out in 2026, Campbell will be fired. That’s probably not happening right away. What I am saying is that the trust he’s built will begin to fade. The leash will get shorter, and the seat will begin to get hot.
The good news is two-fold. Campbell and the Lions made a move that they feel good about. This wasn’t something they were pressured into or something they had to do out of necessity because nobody wanted to come here. The other part is that they did not rush this. They interviewed nine candidates and took their time before landing on the guy they liked the most. We’ll see soon enough if he was the right guy.