The Detroit Lions moved quickly in their offensive coordinator search, landing on Drew Petzing as John Morton's replacement.
That move comes with a ton of upside and throws a wrench in the Chicago Bears' plans as well. On Jan. 30, the Bears lost offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to the Baltimore Ravens. That created a void on Chicago's staff, forcing them into the OC search late in the process.
If things had transpired earlier in the offseason, there would have been a good chance Petzing joined Johnson in Chicago, as the two are close friends. In fact, Petzing was a groomsman in Johnson's wedding.
But with Petzing off the market, Johnson is hoping to find a consolation prize from the Arizona Cardinals' staff. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday that Chicago requested an interview with Connor Senger for their OC vacancy.
Lions Made Ben Johnson Settle for 2nd Option in OC Search
Mike Payton of A to Z Sports reported that Petzing would likely have been a threat to join the Bears staff. He wrote, "There’s a good chance Johnson would have been very high on hiring Petzing as the OC in Chicago, and if you’ve paid attention to the studies we’ve done on Petzing, you’ll notice that Petzing and Johnson are about as simpatico as you can get. They like to run the ball the same way, they’re both aggressive in their play-calling, and both utilize tight ends in a similar way. It just would have been a perfect fit."
Interestingly enough, last offseason, Chicago interviewed Petzing for their head coach vacancy before landing Johnson. That led to Petzing returning to the Cardinals as their OC, but that season ended on a sour note, with Arizona going 3-14 and Jonathan Gannon getting fired.
And now with Petzing off the board, they are looking to get someone with a similar philosophy. Sengar has held smaller roles on the coaching staff, serving as offensive quality control coach and assistant quarterbacks coach, before getting promoted to passing game coordinator in 2025.
Despite being just 30 years old, Sengar seems to be an offensive coach on the rise. As Rapoport noted, Sengar called plays in the East-West Shrine Bowl while also interviewing for the Bills and Packers QB coaching jobs.
Johnson will be the one calling plays for the Bears, so Sengar would help with crafting game plans and other tasks along the offense. But Chicago's interest in him shows they still want someone from Petzing's tree in Arizona, who has a similar mindset to Johnson.
At the time the Lions hired Petzing, the Bears didn't need an OC, but the decision to bring him in feels even better now that Chicago has to scramble to fill that role. Rather than being a potential option for the Bears now, Petzing will be coaching against his good friend. That in and of itself is a win for Detroit.