On Monday, the Detroit Lions made the hiring of Drew Petzing as the team’s next offensive coordinator official. But with no introductory press conference currently scheduled, or a statement from the Lions front office, there hasn’t been much information on why the Lions made that decision. Hours later, the Lions reportedly hired Mike Kafka for a high-ranking offensive coach role, and that remains unofficial.
But the Lions broke their silence this week down at the Senior Bowl, when the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett caught up with Lions general manager Brad Holmes to ask about both hires. Holmes didn’t provide a ton of information on both, but there were a couple of interesting quotes from him.
For one, Holmes made it clear that they weren’t hiring an offensive coordinator to run a predetermined scheme. Petzing will have the opportunity to run what he wants to run.
“Look, it’s his offense,” Holmes said. “It’s not something where he’s got to do something else or be like—this is his show, man.”
As for what that offense may look like, Holmes didn’t provide any details. In fact, he said that part of the appeal of Petzing was that he wasn’t scheme-specific. Rather, he’s shown an ability to adapt and adjust based on the personnel available—as evidenced by the Cardinals’ ever-changing strategy over the past three years amidst a plethora of injuries.
“What I liked about him is that it’s not a system,” Holmes told Birkett. “It’s what you do you have, what’s the personnel that you have. 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.”
As for Kafka, it certainly sounds like Holmes was very pleasantly surprised to be able to add him to the staff. They had come away very impressed by Kafka during his interview for the offensive coordinator job, and I think it’s fair to say Holmes didn’t think he would be able to add both him and Petzing to the staff.
“We were really high on Kafka, too, in the process, and so to be able to get that one, too, I was just like, ‘Holy cow,’” Holmes said.
Holmes didn’t provide any clarity on what Kafka’s role, just confirming it was a high-ranking role that will be specified later this offseason.
Currently, there is no scheduled media availability to talk to Petzing, Kafka, or head coach Dan Campbell for further clarification on the hires. However, traditionally the Lions make Campbell, Holmes, and any new coordinator hires are available to the media during the NFL Combine, which is scheduled for the end of February.
For now, you can read more on Holmes in Birkett’s full article over at the Free Press.
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