The Detroit Lions fan base wasn’t exactly thrilled about the team hiring Drew Petzing as its next offensive coordinator. But Lions quarterback Jared Goff is very much so.
While speaking to reporters Monday at the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games festivities, Goff shared how strongly he feels about the Lions hiring Petzing.
“I’m excited, man,” Goff said, via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “Been on the phone with him and gone through some things. He’s very smart, very bright, can speak it, can say it, understands what I’m talking about. Really excited.”
Petzing is arriving in Detroit after three years as the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator.
“He’s done it before. He’s been a coordinator; he’s called plays,” added Goff.
“I think he was a home run hire. And I’m really excited for him.”
Petzing will replace John Morton as Lions offensive coordinator in 2026. Detroit parted ways with Morton after just one season.
The Lions finished fourth in points scored and fifth in yards last season. But their offense regressed from first in points and second in yards during Ben Johnson’s final season as OC in 2024.
Jared Goff Addresses Drew Petzing Hire as Lions OC
Goff spoke so highly of Petzing in part because of all the good things others had to say about the new Lions OC. Goff spoke to people inside and outside the Detroit organization, including veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett started 12 games in Petzing’s offense during 2025.
“In particular, quarterbacks who have played for him were glowing,” Goff told reporters Monday. “I think the thing that excites me the most is going to be his versatility. He’s not tied to an offense. We’re going to run what we’re best at and what we should be doing. Some of the stuff we’ve done the last few years, that’s worked.”
Petzing’s offense finished 19th in yards and 23rd in points last season. He failed to lead the Cardinals to a top 10 ranking in either category over his three campaigns.
But Petzing will have a lot more pieces to work with in Detroit, including Goff. The veteran quarterback has led the Lions to a top 5 ranking in points and yards during each of the past four seasons.
Goff Searching for More Efficiency in Lions Offense During 2026
In the major statistics, the Lions didn’t take a giant step backwards in 2025. Only three teams scored more points than Detroit.
But in efficiency categories, the Lions weren’t the same offense as 2024. They dropped from first in percentage of drives ending in scores during 2024 to eighth last season.
The Lions had a similar fall in red zone touchdown percentage. They finished third in red zone touchdown percentage in 2024 and then eighth during 2025.
Furthermore, the Lions averaged fewer yards per pass and yards per play last season than the year prior.
Goff stressed Monday how much more efficient he wants the Lions offense to be under Petzing.
“The years where we were really good, winning 12, 15 games. It was efficient. It was consistent,” said Goff. “We weren’t really having like bad games where I felt like this year we had some bad games offensively.
“You’re gonna have a bad play or a bad series, that’s gonna happen. But being able to get back on track quickly is something that we need to be able to do. We know we have the players. We know we have everything we need in place. It’s just consistency and raising our standard a little bit and level execution.”
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