The Detroit Lions made Drew Petzing their next offensive coordinator on Jan. 26, and he’s already begun to craft his scheme for the 2026 season. The Lions needed someone in the building who would maximize the talent they have on offense, and that’s exactly what Petzing plans on doing.
Pezting had an exclusive interview with the Pride of Detroit during their “Midweek Mailbag” episode on Thursday. Detroit’s new OC was asked whether running back David Montgomery would be back for the 2026 season, but couldn’t provide an answer.
Montgomery’s future has been up in the air ever since the regular season ended due to his dwindling usage and some social media posts. Despite not knowing what the future holds, Petzing made it appear he would love Montgomery back next season and would make it his priority to feature him.
“You’re always going to try to find ways to get your best players on the field,” Petzing said. “And you know, whether that’s 25 times a game or five times a game, I think that it has to be something you’re considering, finding ways to do, finding ways to be creative. And I also know no one’s going to play 100% of the snaps, or if they do, they’re not going to make it through 17 games.”
Drew Petzing Is Making It Known He Wants David Montgomery Back
Petzing revealed that when crafting a scheme, you need to find ways to get your best players the football. Yet there needs to be a balance of getting everyone involved to keep guys fresh, and Petzing would love to do that in 2026.
“So it’s a balance… You got to find time to get them a break and get them a blow so that they can make it through a four-month or five-month NFL season… When you have two players of that dynamic ability, you want to find things that they can do together on the field, because it puts stress on the defense.”
Drew Petzing, Lions OC
If Montgomery was worried about his workload after last season, Petzing’s comments should squash those worries, giving the veteran RB every reason to stick with the Lions.
While this is still a developing situation, it’s just the latest example of people inside the organization making it clear they’d want to have Montgomery. Earlier this week, fellow backfield-mate Jahmyr Gibbs said the whole team would be thrilled to get Montgomery back for the 2026 season, but things are in his court.
And based on how the 2025 season went, it’s not a shocker that the former Iowa State standout is considering a change. He saw career lows in carries (158), rushing yards (716), and rushing yards per game (42.1). Gibbs became the workhorse in the backfield, but Petzing wants it to be more of a balanced attack.
When both Gibbs and Montgomery are involved in the flow of the game, the offense becomes more dangerous, forcing defenses to defend two different rushing styles. In 2023 and 2024, Montgomery had at least 775 rushing yards and 12-plus rushing scores. Detroit’s scoring offense ranked fifth and first in those respective seasons.
Petzing knows that and watched the film to see how impactful Montgomery is. If the 28-year-old wants to come back to the Motor City, he’s going to have a significant role in the offense, and seeing your new OC say this has to be music to his ears.
