When the PODcast was last live, the news of the Detroit Lions’ hiring of Drew Petzing as their new offensive coordinator broke right in the middle of the show. Admittedly, it left us scrambling to provide as informed of an opinion on the hire, while also trying to gain as much information on a coach we didn’t know much about prior to the hiring.
So on this week’s Midweek Mailbag podcast, Erik Schlitt and I tried to provide a much more informed take on the hire with a couple days to research and digest the selection. While the entire podcast is not all devoted to Petzing, a large majority of the 80-minute show is devoted to the new Lions’ coordinator.
One of the more interesting topics is the notion that if this hire fails, it could jeopardize Dan Campbell’s job. On one hand, Campbell has pulled this team from irrelevancy, won more playoff games than in the team’s entire Super Bowl-era history, and has produced four straight winning seasons. On the other hand, if Petzing fails, Campbell will have fired three out of his four offensive coordinator hires in a relatively short time. Erik and I debate that topic around the one-hour mark of the show.
Here’s a smattering of topics we discuss on the show, in chronological order:
- Jeremy and Erik offer their initial takes on the pick
- How is this selection different than John Morton?
- Were there any candidates—outside of Mike McDonald—we liked better?
- How long was the Lions’ OC search?
- Can the Lions run 13 personnel concepts with 11 personnel?
- Will the Lions’ tight end room change significantly under Petzing?
- Is David Njoku a possible free agent addition now?
- Are any other coaching changes coming for the Lions?
- Does Petzing’s hire impact the likelihood David Montgomery returns?
- Does Dan Campbell’s future with the Lions hinge on Drew Petzing’s success?
- What did John Morton do wrong? Was he just a victim of circumstances?
- Should the Lions target veteran centers and left tackles? Which should be a priority in free agency?
- What lessons can the Lions learn from the remaining playoff teams?
You can also catch video of the podcast with extra discussion about Petzing and other Lions topics by catching the show on our YouTube page or via our Twitch channel.
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