Last month, the Detroit Lions were one of the first teams to hire an offensive coordinator. They went with Drew Petzing, which caught everyone off guard.
That said, while the Petzing hiring isn’t the flashiest, he fits in perfectly with what the Lions want to do on offense. On paper, he’s an instant upgrade over John Morton, and one could make the case that he’s better than the Chicago Bears' newest offensive coordinator.
On Sunday morning, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Bears are promoting pass game coordinator Press Taylor to offensive coordinator. Taylor, who joined Johnson’s staff last offseason, will be taking over for Declan Doyle, who departed for the offensive coordinator job with the Baltimore Ravens.
Unlike in Detroit, where Petzing likely will be calling the shots on offense, Johnson will still be handling those duties in Chicago as he did with Doyle. However, between the two, Taylor is a noticeable downgrade from Doyle, who is considered a rising head coach at only 29 years old.
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The Lions should be ecstatic about Taylor being offensive coordinator, despite him not calling the plays in 2026. The last time Taylor was an OC, it did not go well.
In his first season as an offensive coordinator, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson reportedly allowed Taylor to call plays in the second half of games. Eventually, Pederson turned over the full time offensive play calling duties to Taylor in 2023 and 2024.
In 2023, the Jaguars’ offense struggled to run the football, only averaging 96.8 yards per game (24th in the NFL).
Things went even more sideways a year later, as they were ranked 24th in passing yards per game (204.5), 25th in total yards per game (306.2), and 26th in scoring offense (18.8 points per game). It didn’t help that Trevor Lawrence only played in 10 games due to injury, but the Jags’ ownership still decided to clean house, indicating that they believed moving on from Taylor and other coaches was needed.
While Johnson is the mastermind behind the offense, the Lions know what to expect from him. Having Taylor as his right-hand man doesn’t exude fear, as his last stint went from middling to disaster in a hurry.
This also makes Detroit's hiring of Drew Petzing even more of a win-win, since Johnson was expected to pursue Petzing given their close connection. That puts the Lions in position to improve offensively from the Morton era, while Johnson's facing a potential regression with his top lieutenant no longer being as strong.
If the Bears’ passing game or offense in general isn’t up to par, Taylor's promotion will likely have played a part in it, which could help Detroit get back towards the top of the division.