While Detroit Lions fans have been hesitant to embrace the hiring of Drew Petzing, it seems that former Lion Ben Johnson is a fan. The current Chicago Bears head coach commented on the hiring via NBC Sports, Michael David Smith, and appeared to have a healthy level of respect and fear for the recent addition. This should leave fans feeling far better about the hiring and foster the expectation that 2026 is going to be a return to dominance.
" "I fully expect that offense to be clicking at a high level next year. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit, and I think there’s a reason why Dan, 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. That doesn’t surprise me. I could see this being a great fit knowing Dan and knowing Drew both. I think it’s probably a match made in heaven.""Ben Johnson
Johnson is showing Detroit a lot of respect in this comment, making it clear that he now expects a rival offense to once again be a problem. This is partly influenced by the fact that Detroit was a player in preventing Chicago from landing the perfect replacement for Declan Doyle, their own OC, who departed for the chance to call plays.
The former Detroit coach saw the impact while also sending a warning of the expectation that the Lions will return to being an elite unit. Johnson's comments are not bulletin board material or a rival attempting to play mental games, but simply a former Lion pointing out the obvious. This should be the biggest endorsement of the hire Detroit fans have heard throughout the early offseason.
Former Lions OC Ben Johnson Offers Ringing Endorsement of Drew Petzing Decision
It seems that even Johnson believes that former Detroit coordinator John Morton was holding this offense back. Head coach Dan Campbell bears a level of responsibility for this as well, having taken over calling plays, and the offense was still inconsistent. There is also the fact that Campbell was responsible for replacing Johnson in the first place and chose Morton.
Regardless, the Lions are now in a great position and simply have to focus on the offseason ahead and patching the needed roster holes. All of the needed talent for this to be an elite offense is still in place, and it appears that Johnson is aware of this.
It is the Lions who are the biggest threat to stopping the Bears from repeating as NFC North champions now that the offense has a chance to be elite once again. It is clear that Chicago's head coach is well aware of this and is building up what is the biggest 2026 threat to take over the North.