Drew Petzing is the Detroit Lions’ next offensive coordinator, whether fans like it or not. <\/p>\n
And, there’s bound to be a hot take hitting your timeline every other post regarding the hire, since it came out of left field. Petzing’s name hadn’t even come up<\/a> as one to watch for an interview with the Lions before they hired him, making it seem like a bit of a rushed move. <\/p>\n But, he’s here, and he’s likely bringing his penchant for trusting the run game as well as the Lions’ tight ends with him. And, there’s at least one commentator who is more than happy with the hire, perhaps for reasons that expand beyond just analytics. <\/p>\n Chris Long said on his podcast that the Lions hiring Petzing – who is friends with former Lions OC and now-Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson – feels like a play to get under Johnson’s skin. <\/p>\n “Petzing was in Ben Johnson’s wedding, so that’s a psychological power move dude … This is the most interesting thing. Ben Johnson is getting the squeeze put on him. They f—— hate him Green Bay. (Matt) LaFleur hates him. LA, the Rams, I don’t think (Sean) McVay likes him because of what he did to LaFleur. And then Dan Campbell hiring his groomsmen. That’s a mind f—. You basically delete that friend, and the guy knows you well.”<\/p>\n Lions new OC Drew Petzing might be a home run hire, here\u2019s why: pic.twitter.com\/85badmBsOR<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Green Light with Chris Long (@greenlight) January 23, 2026<\/a>Chris Long says quiet part out loud about Lions’ Drew Petzing hire<\/p>\n In addition to his thoughts on the Johnson-Petzing connection, Long makes a solid point about the Lions’ running back room of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery being a far better starting point than what Petzing was working with in 2025. <\/p>\n Injuries completely depleted that room, but with a healthier O-line and an actual center (assuming that is what the Lions fix up, anyway), he could cook again with just run-first play-calling<\/a>. Petzing essentially went through the exact situation John Morton did, although with a lot more injuries up front, but still managed to get somewhat decent play out of the backs he had left. <\/p>\n READ MORE: Aidan Hutchinson proves once again the Lions need to build around him in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n “Detroit just had trouble in some areas that they were really good in. Namely, like, zone runs this year. They sucked, though, I know that Petzing is, like, a gap scheme guy, and you’re going to run more counter. But, I also think, they want to get back to what they do well.”<\/p>\n Between the run game, and his usage of tight ends, it’s clear how Petzing’s game-planning<\/a> fits Detroit’s like a glove. Fans just want to see it work, though, and that’s a completely valid bar to want to see cleared after how badly the Morton elevation went last season. <\/p>\n