\tOffensive coordinator Drew Petzing during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 31, 2023.\t<\/p>\n
One of the quirkiest facts about new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is that he is good friends with former Lions OC (and current Bears coach) Ben Johnson. He was even at Johnson\u2019s wedding.<\/p>\n
As it turns out\u2014according to a great profile on Petzing from the Detroit Free Press\u2019 Dave Birkett<\/a>\u2014Johnson was also at Petzing\u2019s wedding, as the two remain close friends following their shared time at Boston College all the way back in 2010-11. <\/p>\n Birkett chatted with Johnson about the Lions\u2019 hiring of Petzing, and the former Lions coordinator gave some high praise for the new Lions hire. <\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s going to blow those players away just from a knowledge standpoint, from a connection standpoint,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI fully expect that offense to be clicking at a high level next year. It wouldn\u2019t surprise me one bit, and I think there\u2019s a reason why Dan (Campbell), from what I could gather, cast a wide net for the offensive coordinator job and Drew hit the right notes in terms of what he was looking for.\u201d <\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s opinion obviously carries a ton of weight. Not only does he know Petzing well, but he knows exactly what Lions head coach Dan Campbell is looking for and the kind of people he works well with. He believes that pairing is going to work well in Detroit. <\/p>\n \u201cI could see this being a great fit knowing Dan and knowing Drew both. I think it\u2019s probably a match made in heaven,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Pride of Detroit spoke with Petzing a few weeks ago<\/a>, teasing the relationship between him and Johnson. Petzing didn\u2019t want to feed Johnson any bulletin board material noting Johnson\u2019s competitive nature. That said, he did get a little jab in. <\/p>\n \u201cThe only thing I said (to him) is I\u2019m a better-looking Lions offensive coordinator,\u201d Petzing joked. <\/p>\n Johnson, too, took the high road.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a really smart decision by Dan. It\u2019s going to be hopefully not too big of a headache on us, but I see it being a really good match,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n The whole profile is definitely worth checking out over on Freep.com. <\/a><\/p>\n