The Detroit Lions have to be disappointed with how the 2025 season turned out. Detroit finished the regular season 9-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season. That frustrating result has already driven the Lions to make a few important changes on their coaching staff to kick off the offseason.
Detroit started by firing offensive coordinator John Morton after just one season. The Lions were clearly not pleased with their offensive output in 2025 following three incredible seasons with Ben Johnson.
Now the Lions have added two important offensive coaches who will be responsible for charting a new course forward in 2026.
The Lions brought in Drew Petzing as their next offensive coordinator last week. He was most recently the offensive coordinator with the Cardinals.
But Detroit did not stop there.
They also made the surprising move to hire former Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka to a “high-ranking offensive staff role” on Monday.
The Petzing hire was not exactly popular with the fanbase, especially with flashier names like Mike McDaniel still available at the time. Meanwhile, Kafka was widely considered a more popular candidate. The Lions are fortunate to somehow land both coaches.
Below we will explore why the addition of Mike Kafka changes the complexion of the Drew Petzing hire.
Why Lions fans should be excited about Drew Petzing, Mike Kafka hires
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There’s a lot to like about Kafka as an NFL coach. He was a journeyman quarterback in the league 2010-2015 before quickly getting into coaching.
Kafka’s first role in the NFL was offensive quality control with the Chiefs in 2017. He was the promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2018, helping Patrick Mahomes earn NFL MVP and get his first Pro Bowl nod of his career. Mahomes is obviously most responsible for those accomplishments, but Kafka deserves his credit for helping Mahomes along the way.
Kafka also has experience as a passing game coordinator (also in Kansas City), offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, and interim head coach. He is clearly a competent coach to rise the ranks so quickly.
Lions writer Al Karsten noted that New York’s offense improved in a few important advanced metrics after Kafka took over as interim head coach.
The Giants saw noticeable improvements in points per game, EPA per play, and explosive play rate once Kafka took the reins in Week 11. Keep in mind, that is after Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo suffered season-ending injuries.
Meanwhile, Petzing brings plenty of experience as a running game specialist to Detroit.
The Cardinals thrived at running the football during Petzing’s time in Arizona. His Cardinals offense had 2,451 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns in 2024. It was the third-most rushing yards in franchise history and the most since 1979, per Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman.
Arizona was one of only two teams in the NFL to average over 5.0 yards per carry in both 2023 and 2024.
What will the dynamic be between Petzing, Kafka in Detroit?
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This is still the biggest unknown after Kafka’s hiring.
The Lions have already announced Petzing as their new offensive coordinator, which takes that possibility off the table for Kafka. It will be interesting to learn what his official title with the team is, whenever that becomes available.
But putting the unknowns aside, I think it is pretty easy to make an educated guess about how this should shake out.
When looking at each coach’s specialty, I would expect Petzing to be in charge of the running game and Kafka the passing game. As offensive coordinator, I would expect Petzing to assume play-calling duties.
Personally, I feel confident knowing that each coach comes to the table with a clear speciality. I also trust Dan Campbell to make each coach’s responsibilities clear, which should prevent friction from building between the two.
Ultimately, I feel that the appeal for Kafka is to set himself up as a head coaching candidate in next year’s hiring cycle. Learning from Campbell, and potentially reviving Detroit’s high-powered offense, would look great on his resume.
If that is truly the plan, it could work out well for Detroit.
The Lions can gain all of the benefits of adding Kafka for 2026, even if he does leave next offseason. Meanwhile, they would still maintain some continuity as long as Petzing sticks around as offensive coordinator.
I want to be clear that this feels a bit like uncharted territory in terms of NFL team building. But if I’m reading the situation right, I can see exactly what Campbell hopes to gain from these two hires.
Now I cannot wait to see what Detroit’s offense looks like in 2026 with Petzing and Kafka running the show.
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