The Detroit Lions are on the hunt for a new offensive coordinator after parting ways with John Morton earlier this week. Morton came back to the Motor City this season after spending the prior two seasons with the Denver Broncos.
Lions fans were hoping that Morton’s previous experience in Detroit would help him take over for ex-OC Ben Johnson, who departed for Chicago. However, that didn’t happen, and now the Lions are trying to find someone who can lead the offense in 2026.
The Lions have reached out to former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and have requested an interview with Washington Commanders assistant QBs coach David Blough, which caught the fanbase’s attention.
On Friday, the Lions continued their search, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reported that Detroit will interview Seattle Seahawks passing game coordinator Jake Peetz. Garafolo points out that Peetz has worked closely with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and Seattle OC Klint Kubiak, the latter of whom is a head coaching candidate himself.
Lions Kicking the Tires on Jake Peetz for Offensive Coordinator Interview
It’s not a surprise to see the Lions being aggressive immediately after parting ways with Morton. They know and realize that their offense took a step back, and it's clear that HC Dan Campbell as the playcaller didn’t work.
Peetz was in the mix for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ OC job last year, but Tampa Bay ended up promoting Josh Grizzard, who they fired earlier this week. Meanwhile, the 42-year-old Peetz has been in Seattle for the last two seasons as the passing game coordinator, working under then-offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb in 2024 and now Kubiak in 2025.
This season with the Seahawks, Sam Darnold hasn’t thrown as many TDs (25) as he did in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings (35). That said, Darnold is completing a career-high 67.7 percent of his passes.
Before arriving in Seattle, Peetz had worked with the Rams, Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, and Carolina Panthers in the pros. He also has some collegiate experience on his resume. Peetz worked as an offensive analyst at the University of Alabama in 2018 and as offensive coordinator and QBs coach at LSU in 2021.
Even though he doesn’t have OC experience at the NFL level, it's clear that it isn’t stopping the Lions from bringing Peetz in for an interview. It will be interesting to see who else the Lions bring in for an interview and if they interview anybody in-house. Hank Fraley, who had two interviews with the Seahawks for their OC vacancy last season, should be on their short list.