The Detroit Lions have seen this movie before: a coordinator gets hot, the phone starts ringing, and suddenly another team is treating Dan Campbell’s staff like a hiring pool. This time, it’s offensive coordinator Drew Petzing drawing the buzz, and the Jets may be one of the first teams in line if the season keeps trending the way it has.
That makes for a particularly awkward fit in New York. Aaron Glenn’s loss to the previously 0-5 Miami Dolphins dropped him to 5-19 overall and 0-8 in the AFC East, and it sure looks like he’s headed toward the exit at season’s end. If that happens, the Jets could go searching for an offensive-minded head coach this time around.
Petzing has made a strong case. He’s running a Lions offense that’s humming, and he brings more NFL experience than a lot of the young offensive coordinators getting attention around the league. That matters in a market like New York, especially if the alternative is handing the job to someone with barely any play-calling experience.
The league’s obsession with young offensive minds has thinned the pool in a weird way. The biggest names at the top of the offensive food chain - Ben Johnson, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan - call their own plays. That leaves a lot of teams shopping for coordinators who have the title, but not much actual authority.
Petzing stands apart from that crowd. He has three years in Arizona on his résumé, where he worked well with the talent available, and he has been coaching in the NFL since 2014. That kind of background looks a lot different from the resumes of guys like Grant Udinski, Klay Kubiak, and Declan Doyle, who are all under 40 and have just one combined year of play-calling between them.
The Lions’ attack has given Petzing more than enough tape to make people take notice. Jared Goff has thrown an interception in six games while still passing for at least 200 yards and one touchdown in every game this year. Jahmyr Gibbs has been featured heavily, and the result is 890 scrimmage yards and a league-best nine total touchdowns from scrimmage this season.
There’s also the Jets’ own history to consider. In the Woody Johnson ownership era, they’ve hired only one offensive coach, and that was Adam Gase. Even so, the connection to Campbell’s coaching tree may matter, especially if New York wants to chase some of the same formula that has helped build the Lions into one of the league’s more aggressive offensive teams.
Glenn could even end up back in his old Lions defensive coordinator role if he gets fired in New York, but the bigger story here is whether Detroit can keep Petzing from becoming the next coach to cash in on this staff’s success. Lions fans hoping for offensive stability may have a rude wake-up call coming, because teams are likely to be calling about Petzing once the season ends.
In Other News...
Cade Mays Gave Lions Fans One Worry And One Big Reason For Hope
Cade Mays first game with the Lions came with the kind of mixed tape that always leaves a coaching staff sorting out the good and the bad. In his Week 7 debut at center, he was part of a line that helped Detroit get off to a fast offensive start, and his presence showed up in the pass protection that kept Jared Goff more comfortable than he has been for much of the season.
The concern, of course, is that the Lions are still trying to settle the middle of the line while also figuring out how to get more out of Larry Borom in jumbo packages. Borom has not yet given Detroit the kind of reliable blocking it wants in those looks, so Mays debut offered a reason for hope even as it underscored how much work remains before the front five feels truly settled. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Packers Aftermath Has One Debate Green Bay Fans Wont Drop
The latest chapter in the Lions-Packers rivalry left plenty for Green Bay fans to argue about, especially in the wake of a game that exposed familiar problems on offense. Detroit came away with the better result in a 20-17 finish, and the discussion afterward has centered less on one unlucky bounce than on whether the Packers simply failed to do enough to win it.
A big part of that debate is the ground game, which never found much room to operate and has been a concern well beyond this matchup. Green Bays rushing attack was so inefficient that its season-long average sat at 2.9 yards per attempt, a mark that underscores how little margin the offense had once the game tightened up. From the Lions perspective, it was the kind of divisional win that comes from making the other side live with its own shortcomings. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Deadline Buzz Centers On A Cornerback Fix Brad Holmes Needs
The Lions have spent much of the season searching for help at cornerback, and the discussion around the deadline is already starting to sharpen around one obvious area of need. With November 10 approaching, Detroit will be one of the teams worth watching if it decides to add a veteran presence to steady the secondary for the stretch run.
One name that keeps surfacing is Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen, a player on a one-year contract who could become available if Philadelphia continues to slide. The Eagles have not played like a club comfortable standing pat, and if the season keeps drifting in the wrong direction, a move for draft capital would make sense. For Detroit, the appeal is simple: a chance to address a thin spot without waiting for the offseason market to do the work. [Read more 🡒]