SerpApi.Org
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff is ready to lead his team back into Super Bowl contention behind a new offensive leader.
Goff is adjusting to a new coordinator for the second time in as many offseasons now that the Lions have brought in former Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing to replace John Morton.
Morton ceded playcalling duties last season to head coach Dan Campbell before he was ultimately fired after the Lions, a team that went into the 2025 campaign with championship expectations, went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
Goff told Bleacher Report the transition into a new offensive scheme has so far been eased by Petzing's communication style.
"He really has been great to work with. Our communication has been awesome, very open," Goff said about Petzing. "I'm able to express what I like, what I don't like, and he's able to tell me the same things of why he wants something or why he doesn't want something. And it's a lot of fun, it's really is. It's a lot of fun to work with someone like him."
The offense will get their first chance to work with Petzing as a full unit when Lions training camp begins later this month at Allen Park.
"I think a lot of what OTAs and the early offseason is is getting a feel for each other, and understanding what we want to do, and what we're best at, and trying to figure that out," Goff said about the unit's development with Petzing. "And then, as we get into training camp, you start really solidifying a lot of that."
Goff said he was able to guide his teammates' initial adjustment to the new scheme thanks in part to his years of experience working with other Lions stars like running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.
"We've got such great experience with each other, and when something new comes in that we're running, I can talk about something that we had done previously and relate it to that— 'Hey, it's kind of like this, but it's a little bit different,'" Goff said. "And I can do that with majority of the offense at this point."
The Lions are facing a tough path back to the playoffs that starts out with five non-division games before NFC North play kicks off with back-to-back matchups against the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.
Goff will be traveling to Germany for the first time in Week 10. That international matchup against the New England Patriots in Munich highlights a stretch during which the Lions play three games in 12 days.
"I think that'll be great," Goff said about the Munich game. "I wish we had a bye week afterwards, but we don't, and deal with it and move on."
Staying in playoff position after that difficult stretch might necessitate Goff cutting down on the career-high 38 sacks he took last season.
In addition to cutting down on his own throwing time, Goff is hoping the Lions drafting tackle Blake Miller and adding veterans like Cade Mays, Larry Borom, Ben Bartch and Juice Scuggs will create training camp competitions on the offensive line this summer.
"This is the deepest I feel like we've been at the offensive line, with guys that have experience and can play at a few positions," Goff said. "Probably all the way up to eight, nine, ten offensive linemen. So, yeah, it creates that competition. It's great. The cream will rise to the top, and we'll find out who wins those jobs."
Goff spoke with Bleacher Report while on set for a Little Caesars campaign set to come out in September.
"I've been eating Little Caesars since I was a little kid with my friends growing up in Northern California," Goff said. "So yeah, I love it, and I see it all around the city in Detroit."
Goff was in the area around his hometown in Marin County earlier this offseason while visiting his former college program in Berkeley.
The Lions quarterback played from 2013 to 2015 for Cal, which is hoping to take a step forward next season behind new head coach Tosh Lupoi and second-year quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.
"I think Tosh is doing a great job. He really is," Goff said. "To come in and be able to get the momentum he's built so quickly is hard, it really is. Now, they haven't won any games yet, but they've done a good job this offseason recruiting... Jaron's doing a great job too. He had a great year last year, and excited to see where it can go."
Goff's campaign to help the Lions build an offense that can compete for a championship starts in earnest when veterans report for training camp July 28.
Campbell previously said the Lions won't be participating in any joint practices, which could lead to more starters seeing action when the preseason kicks off Aug. 13 with a road game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
