When a team hires a new coordinator for coaching, it’s common practice to bring in some familiar staff to help them build systems in the new organization. Even a team like the Detroit Lions with a fairly stable coaching staff might be willing to bring in some new faces to implement a new game plan. When they hired John Morton as their new offensive coordinator last year, he brought in old friend David Shaw as passing game coordinator.
So it stands to reason that as Drew Petzing becomes the next offensive coordinator, he might bring a coach or two with him.
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Here are four new coaching candidates who could join Detroit Patzingy.
Cardinals tight ends coach Ben Steele
It’s the easiest dots to connect, as the Lions currently have a vacancy at tight ends coach after Tyler Rhule left to become Iowa State’s new offensive coordinator.
Given Petzker’s high usage rate against 12 and 13 personnel (two and three sets of tight ends), finding a tight ends coach who shares his vision will be important. Steele, a former tight end who spent six years in the NFL, has been Petching’s tight ends coach throughout his time as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator. Trey McBride has become a superstar during that time, and it will be interesting to see what he can do to further enhance Sam LaPorte’s game.
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It’s unclear if Steele is out of contract in Arizona like Petching, but with their head coaching search still ongoing, it’s possible the Cardinals could let him pursue other opportunities.
Cardinals passing game coordinator Drew Terrell
One of the more interesting questions now that Pechin is hired is where the passing game’s impact will come from. Petching has been widely praised for his innovations in the run game, but Detroit still needs to keep their top-10 passing attack thriving.
With Morton’s departure, Shaw’s future in Detroit is certainly in question, and Shaw is also interviewing for the Buccaneers’ OC job.
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Terrell would be an interesting emerging option. He spent the past three years as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach at Arizona State, but the Cardinals’ passing offense never produced average results.
Working with the wide receiver group, he acquired two young, highly drafted receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson. Both have made progress, but their production has so far been lackluster. Still, he had more success as Washington’s receivers coach, helping Terry McLaurin become a household name.
Detroit already has a very solid receivers coach in Scotty Montgomery, so this hire may be redundant. But if the Lions are concerned about eventually losing Montgomery and want to find someone more familiar with Pechin’s system, Terrell is a young, developing option.
Cardinals pass rush specialist Connor Senger
Like Terrell, Senger was a young coach with limited success, but his coaching career began even earlier. As a former college quarterback, Senger’s coaching career can only be traced back to 2017, and he will only enter the NFL in 2022.
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In his first year with the Cardinals, he received the Bill Bidwell Scholarship, a program designed to increase diversity by providing opportunities for minority coaches. He has since been promoted to offensive quality control coach (2023), assistant quarterbacks coach (2024) and passing game specialist (2025). Senger continued his development as a coach as a member of the coaching staff at the 2024 Senior Bowl and last year’s Shrine Bowl.
Not much information is available on Senger, but the Lions tend to develop coaches, and Senger has found himself rising quickly.
Seahawks quarterbacks coach Andrew Gianoco
Well, this is definitely a blind shot as I don’t know if Gianoco is available or interested in heading to Detroit for a pass rush coordinator type role.
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Gianoco and Petching return to their days with the Vikings, with Gianoco serving as quality control coach before serving as an offensive line assistant from 2017-19. The two overlapped for a full five years, and Janocko’s stock price has been rising ever since.
After coaching the offensive line, he transitioned to wide receivers coach (2020) before turning his focus to quarterbacks. He was the Bears quarterbacks coach in 2022-23, the Saints quarterbacks coach in 2024, and now is with the Seahawks in 2025, where Sam Darnold is enjoying another career year.
Most importantly, however, Janocko is an offshoot of the Klint Kubiak tree (currently the Seahawks OC), which is where Petzing’s biggest influence comes from. While Gianoko’s past doesn’t look good when paired with young quarterbacks (Justin Fields in 2022-23, Spencer Rattler in 2024), he’s been better off with veteran passers (Derek Carr). Carr, Darnold have worked well together, and some believe he could be the replacement for Kubiak at Seahawks offensive coordinator if he gets the head coaching job this cycle.