Drew

Petzing

Well, what he really said was “look, it’s his offense. It’s not something where he’s got to do something else or be like – this is his show, man.” Holmes praised Petzing’s “impressive” job calling plays despite Arizona’s personnel issues and noted that Petzing isn’t married to a system so much as a philosophy to “maximize personnel of what’s available.” We’re not totally sold on Petzing’s work in Arizona, but it’s clear that NFL decision makers saw it differently. How the Lions change schematically in Petzing’s view will be a very real question over the next six months.

It was truly a storied courtship as the Lions ... never were directly reported to have interviewed Petzing. We’re not sure who Petzing’s agent is, but he needs to put in some work with the #sources next go around. It’s possible that Kevin Stefanski’s elevation to Falcons head coach hurried this hire along, as Petzing coached under Stefanski in Cleveland and would have been a potential offensive coordinator candidate for the Falcons as well. Petzing did not exactly oversee a complex and exciting offense in Arizona as both Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. flatlined, though he did oversee the renaissance of the Jacoby Brissett Pass Yards Machine as well. We’re surprised this is the direction the Lions went, but as long as Dan Campbell is overseeing things, it’s hard to drastically downgrade the Lions skill position players for fantasy purposes.

While Williams would like an offensive-minded coach, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick remained open to considering any coach who is a “strong-minded, a leader of men.” Whether or not the Bears take Williams’ desires into consideration is to be determined, but they have met with several offensive coaches throughout the interview process, including Cardinals OC Drew Petzing, former Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy, former Seahawks HC Pete Carroll, and Lions OC Ben Johnson — to name a few. They’ve also requested a sit down with Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, who he spent time with during their days at USC in 2023. The Bears will have a number of offensive minds to choose from to help Williams and the team improve on an offense that ranked 28th in scoring (18.2 points per game) last season. Whether or not the Bears go with an offensive-minded guy is to be determined, but the franchise QB has spoken.

The Bears continue to knock out interviews for their head coaching vacancy and have more candidates on tap in the coming days. In two years with the Cardinals, Petzing elevated his offense to a top-12 unit by the end of 2024. The Cardinals also ranked 13th in EPA per dropback and sixth in dropback success rate, which could bode well for Caleb Williams heading into his second season if Petzing and the Bears unite.

Petzing has spent the last two seasons as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator after previously serving with the Browns from 2020-2022. The 37-year-old play-caller saw his offense rank 24th in points per game in 2023 but was able to elevate them to 12th in scoring in 2024 while also ranking in the top 10 in EPA/play and success rate. Petzing could field a handful of other head coaching requests in the coming days, but the Bears are the first to get a request in.

The 35-year-old just finished his first season as QBs coach. He had previously served as Kevin Stefanski’s TEs coach. He also served as a WRs coach in Minnesota, where he worked alongside new Cardinals head man Jonathan Gannon. It’s quite the fateful hire for Gannon, who has been tasked with sparking Kyler Murray’s career as he plateaus and returns from a torn ACL. Petzing’s thin résumé makes it a bold hire, one entirely dependent on Gannon being a strong identifier of coaching talent. With Gannon a defensive mind, there will be no safety net if Petzing isn’t ready.

Petzing is, according to Cabot, “expected to get the job.” Petzing and Jonathan Gannon worked together with the Vikings, and Petzing was Stefon Diggs’ WR coach and has climbed the ladder in Cleveland from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach. He did a nice job with Jacoby Brissett last year, and probably figures to carry some Kevin Stefanski roots to Arizona if he does indeed wind up with their offensive coordinator gig.

Petzing spent six seasons (2014-19) with the Vikings in a variety of roles, most notably as the team’s wide receivers coach in helping Stefon Diggs set a career high with 1,130 receiving yards in 2019. Petzing was initially hired as Cleveland’s TE coach in 2020.