Matt LaFleur Sounds Off on Dan Campbell's New-Look Lions Offense
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur believes the constant coordinator changes won't hold back the Detroit Lions in 2026.
The Detroit Lions will have a new offensive coordinator for the second straight season, as Drew Petzing is taking over after the team moved on from John Morton.
Detroit was looking for Morton to be its long-term replacement for Ben Johnson, who left the Lions for the Chicago Bears head coaching gig in January 2025. However, after head coach Dan Campbell took play-calling duties away from Morton midseason, the writing was on the wall for his firing.
Despite inconsistent offensive play-calling last season, the Lions’ offense was still productive, but they could be even better in 2026, and Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is taking notice.
Matt LaFleur Calls Lions an Elite Team
© David Banks-Imagn Images
ESPN’s Eric Woodyard interviewed several NFL coaches about the Lions’ offense and Super Bowl chances in 2026. LaFleur was one of them, and he provided a glowing endorsement of Detroit.
LaFleur acknowledged that losing coordinators isn’t easy to overcome, but he still believes the Lions are an elite team and that Campbell is an upper-echelon coach.
“I do think that is a challenge, obviously. [Campbell] lost both of his coordinators, and there’s a little bit of learning curve there and sometimes you have some growing pains, but I still think they’re an elite team,” LaFleur said.
“Oh yeah, Dan Campbell’s a stud. He is an unbelievable football coach. Got a ton of respect for him. What he’s been able to establish here, the culture that they have. You know you better strap it up when you’re going to play the Detroit Lions,” LaFleur added about Campbell.
LaFleur and Campbell have built a friendly rivalry in recent years, but they’ve always shown mutual respect as both have built their respective squads into consistent playoff contenders in the NFC.
As long as Campbell is coaching the Lions, the team has a chance to be competitive and make noise in the postseason. Though Detroit hasn’t been able to replace Johnson yet and will likely never find an offensive coordinator on his level, the offense has too much talent to be a dynamic unit every year.
A bounce-back 2026 campaign isn’t guaranteed for the Lions, but they are in a fantastic position to return to the playoffs after missing last year and possibly making a run into late January, or even February.