One of the first coordinators to be hired this cycle was not a particularly hot name on the market. Everyone and their mother wants former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel to call offensive plays for their team next year, but that enthusiasm never built around Drew Petzing, who, like head coach Jonathan Gannon, was fired from the Arizona Cardinals after this season.
Petzing is a 38-year-old who had the offensive coordinator title for the Cardinals before signing with the Lions today. Before
then, he had worked with Kevin Stefanski with both the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns.
Here are some key stats from Petzing’s time in Arizona (the higher ranked, the better for all stats).
Passing Game (2023-2025)
- Pass attempts: 6th
- Pass yards: 19th
- Completion percentage: 11th
- Touchdown percentage: 22nd
- Interception percentage: 12th
- Sack rate: 18th
- Yards per attempt: 25th
- Yards per completion: 29th
- Adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A): 25th
In general, the Cardinals threw a lot of short passes and avoided interceptions at a slightly above-average rate, but were only more efficient (ANY/A) than the Browns, Jets, Raiders, Panthers, Titans, Giants and Bears through the air under Petzing’s leadership in Arizona. Certainly nothing to write home about.
Running Game (2023-2025)
- Run attempts: 25th
- Rushing yards: 9th
- Rushing yards per attempt: 2nd
- Rushing touchdowns: 17th
By far, the best stat on Petzing’s resume is his rushing yards per attempt number. With that being said, though, that also deserves some context. Quarterback Kyler Murray, a former first overall pick, ran the ball 151 times for 989 yards and a 6.5 yards per carry mark under Petzing. That’s substantially higher than the only running back who got more carries than Murray during Petzing’s time in Arizona (James Conner, 4.7) and the first back below Murray’s rush attempts (Michael Carter, 4.1).
When you just count running back carries, here’s what the NFL yards per carry averages have looked like since 2023:
- Ravens: 5.2
- Lions: 4.9
- Dolphins: 4.8
- Bills: 4.7
- Eagles: 4.7
- Cardinals: 4.6
- 49ers: 4.5
- Colts: 4.5
- Falcons: 4.5
- Rams: 4.5
- Commanders: 4.5
- Steelers: 4.3
- Jets: 4.3
- Bears: 4.3
- Cowboys: 4.2
- Packers: 4.2
- Titans: 4.2
- Vikings: 4.2
- Seahawks: 4.2
- Broncos: 4.2
- Bengals: 4.2
- Panthers: 4.2
- Patriots: 4.1
- Buccaneers: 4.1
- Texans: 4.0
- Jaguars: 3.9
- Giants: 3.9
- Chargers: 3.9
- Chiefs: 3.8
- Browns: 3.8
- Saints: 3.7
- Raiders: 3.7
This hiring, to me, signals that finding ways to run the football is the trait that the Lions looked for the most out of a potential offensive coordinator candidate. Petzing’s backs have put up good production, but there was still always the threat that mobile quarterback Kyler Murray could have pulled the ball on any play, something that won’t be a factor when Jared Goff is under center for Detroit.
It’s a bit of an odd fit and an odd hire for the Lions. We’ll just have to see how it works out for them down the line. Detroit had to do something, though, as head coach Dan Campbell began calling offensive plays for the team in Week 10 of last season after replacing Ben Johnson, who left to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears, with John Morton, who was fired in January after just one year after being named offensive coordinator.
