For the second week in a row, the original plans for our Detroit Lions PODcast had to be scrapped on the day of recording. Last week, the hiring of Drew Petzing as Detroit’s next offensive coordinator happened in the middle of the show. This week, we got a little more heads up. About two hours before we went live, news broke that the Lions are adding Mike Kafka to their offensive coaching staff.
So, on this week’s PODcast episode, we’re giving our immediate reactions to the Kafka hire. Spoiler: we’re pretty excited. Obviously, he’s far from the perfect candidate, but his pairing with Petzing certainly seems like it makes some logical sense, and now the Lions have two well-respected offensive minds added to the staff.
But there are certainly some questions that his hiring raises. For one, what will Kafka’s role be? What does that mean for the job security of pass game coordinator David Shaw or assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery, who is reportedly up for the Ravens offensive coordinator job? Additionally, why did Kafka take a role below offensive coordinator? Was he not going to be hired for any of the jobs he was a candidate for this coaching cycle, or was this opportunity with the Lions too good to pass up? And how will Kafka and Petzing work together?
On this week’s PODcast, we discuss all of that, offer fuller thoughts on Petzing’s hire after a week of digesting the news, talk about other NFC North coaching shifts this offseason, and talk about what we can learn from this year’s 2025-26 NFL playoffs.
You can listen to the show below, or via whatever podcasting app is your favorite by searching “Pride of Detroit.”
As always, catch the video edition of the PODcast over on our YouTube page or Twitch channel. Those videos include between-segments chatter. This week, that includes a healthy debate about weather affecting football games, our thoughts on the Seahawks/Patriots making the Super Bowl and intrusive owners.
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