The Detroit Lions are heading into 2026 with a pair of coordinators who both have something to answer for.
Drew Petzing is the new face running the offense, while Kelvin Sheppard is back on defense for his second year in the role. Together, they’re being asked to steady a team that has already watched two coordinator pairings come and go since the Lions’ rise began.
Petzing arrives after John Morton lost playcalling duties and then lost his job once 2025 wrapped up. Dan Campbell and the front office turned to the former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator to take over an offense that still looks dangerous on paper, but needs a cleaner, sharper identity.
His case starts with the mess he inherited in Arizona. Kyler Murray’s season ended after Week 5, and James Conner was done after Week 3.
Even so, Petzing managed to guide an offense that helped Trey McBride post a career year. Now the challenge is different: make Detroit’s attack unpredictable, because Morton’s version became too easy to read.
That showed up in the details. The Lions didn’t use enough motion to stress defenses, and second-and-long became a dead spot. The play calls there were too familiar, and too often they left Detroit in a worse position when third down arrived.
Petzing was chosen over several other options, including Mike Kafka, Mike McDaniel, and Arthur Smith, among others.
On the other side of the ball, Sheppard is walking into a much tougher setup than the one he had last season. The Lions were hit hard by injuries in 2025, with DJ Reed, Brian Branch, Ennis Rakestraw, Terrion Arnold, Kerby Joseph, Marcus Davenport, Levi Onwuzurike, and Josh Paschal all among the expected contributors to miss most or all of the year.
Detroit leaned on the “legion of whom,” and the results were uneven. There were flashes, including a promising showing against the Buccaneers, but the defense still came up short when it absolutely had to get off the field.
That problem matters even more now because the pass rush has to replace Al-Quadin Muhammad, who left in free agency. DJ Wonnum, rookie Derrick Moore, and Payton Turner are the names lined up to fill that role.
Sheppard also has less continuity in the linebacker room after captain Alex Anzalone moved on. The secondary looks even shakier. Nickel Amik Robertson left in free agency, Terrion Arnold was released after his offseason arrest and ongoing legal trouble, and both Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are expected to miss time at the start of the season.
The injuries were already a major issue in 2025, but Detroit still took a step back from 2024 and allowed four more points per game. That kind of drop is hard to explain away, especially with the Lions’ standards now set by playoff trips in 2023 and 2024.
Last season’s failure landed on both coordinators. The offense stalled and left the defense exposed at times, and at other moments the defense gave up long drives that kept the offense from building momentum or forced it to play from behind.
So 2026 is a prove-it year for both men. Sheppard needs to show the defense can hold up despite the turnover and injuries.
Petzing has to prove Campbell was right to trust him after Arizona tore down its staff following a disastrous season. If both get it right, the Lions could make it three playoff trips in four years since 2023.
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