Last month, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell shook up his offensive coaching staff after a frustrating 2025 season. The Lions parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton and then hired Drew Petzing as his replacement.
The Lions also brought aboard Mike Kafka, which was shocking, considering they just hired Petzing. However, it was reported that Kafka would have "a high-ranking offensive staff role."
On Monday, the Lions officially finalized their staff for the 2026 season, which included Kafka’s new title. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Kafka’s official title in Detroit will be passing game coordinator. Birkett points out that David Shaw had that title, but now he’ll be the Lions’ pass game specialist.
Lions Take Passing Game Coordinator Title Away from David Shaw After 1 Year
This is not a good look for Shaw, who just joined Campbell’s staff last offseason. He was brought in after spending one year with the Denver Broncos to help Morton, while also giving Campbell another voice on that side of the ball.
However, it seems like Shaw didn’t help Morton much in his role. Campbell took the playcalling duties away from Morton towards the halfway point of the regular season. The Lions’ offense did not look perfect with Campbell calling the shots, but there were some glimpses of what we saw from this offense in years past.
Jared Goff had a good year under center, throwing for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. However, his completion percentage was 68.0, which is a stark difference from what he did in 2024 under Ben Johnson (72.4).
That doesn’t all fall on Shaw’s shoulders, as he wasn’t the OC nor the QBs coach, but he will get some blame for working on that side of the ball.
Now, the veteran college coach is seemingly on thin ice after Campbell took a title he had last season and gave it to Kafka.Â
Kafka is the younger coach and may have more upside as a future NFL head coach, but Shaw also has an exceptional resume in the pros and at the college level. If things were not to work out in Detroit after this upcoming season, he could find himself with another job inside the NFL or take his talents back to the college football world. He had a solid 12-year run at Stanford as their head coach.Â
There’s also the small possibility that Shaw gets that title back, especially if Kafka gets an OC or head coach opportunity following the 2026 season. But that might be a long shot.