The Detroit Lions cast a wide net in their search for a new offensive coordinator, interviewing 10 different candidates before ultimately landing on former Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing. And now, general manager Brad Holmes has revealed exactly what separated Petzing from the rest of the field.

Speaking with the Detroit Free Press at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, Holmes explained that what he loved most about Petzing wasn’t a rigid playbook or a single system — it was his adaptability.

“A lot of it is, what I liked about him is that it’s not a system. It’s what you do you have, what’s the personnel that you have,” Holmes said. “Like, what can we do? And so that’s what I think he showed us in that process is that he can maximize personnel of what’s available. So that’s real exciting.”

That flexibility clearly resonated with a Lions front office that prides itself on building around its roster strengths, not forcing players into ill-fitting schemes.

Holmes said the decision ultimately came down to collective feel and trust in the evaluation process.

“It was just a ton of impressive candidates, but we got to the end of the week, we kind of went back to like, who’s the guy that we all collectively felt like he checked all the boxes for us?” Holmes explained. “And we just kind of went with that, went with the gut, and that’s why we made the move.”

Detroit’s approach this time around differed from previous coordinator searches. Only one internal candidate, passing game coordinator David Shaw, was interviewed. The rest of the process focused on outside voices, a clear sign the organization wanted fresh ideas after the offense showed signs of becoming predictable late in the 2025 season.

Holmes was especially impressed by Petzing’s football IQ, preparation, and reputation around the league.

“But (Petzing) is just very sharp, very bright, just really liked his attention to detail,” Holmes said. “He was very well recommended, all the vetting that we did. I mean, all the sources couldn’t speak highly enough about him. And just kind of just really liked what his philosophy was behind the offensive football and how he utilized personnel. So, it just, he just checked all the boxes, man. So we were we were excited about him.”

Petzing now becomes the fourth offensive coordinator hired by Dan Campbell since taking over in 2021, following Anthony Lynn, Ben Johnson, and John Morton. Johnson’s rise to Chicago’s head coaching job and the offense’s need for evolution opened the door for a fresh architect.

Holmes also noted the Lions were thrilled to add Mike Kafka to the staff alongside Petzing, giving Detroit an offensive brain trust influenced by some of the league’s most respected coaching trees.

For a franchise firmly in its Super Bowl window, the message is clear: the Lions weren’t just looking for play-callers, they were searching for a flexible, detail-oriented teacher who could tailor an offense around Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Sam LaPorta.

In Drew Petzing, Brad Holmes believes they found exactly that.