- Hired as the Cardinals offensive coordinator in 2023 following three seasons (2020-22) with Cleveland, including in 2022 serving as the Browns quarterbacks coach.
- In 2024, the Cardinals rushed for 2,451 yards and 18 TDs with a 5.29 yard per carry average. The 2,451 rushing yards were the 3rd most in team history and the highest total since 1979. Arizona's 5.29 yards per carry average was the highest in team history and the 16th best average in NFL history.
- The Cardinals finished the 2024 campaign with 6,090 total net yards, marking just the 5th time in team history the team had 6,000+ yards in a season. Arizona had a 3,000-yard passer (QB Kyler Murray), 1,000-yard receiver (TE Trey McBride) and 1,000-yard rusher (RB James Conner) in a season for just the fifth time in franchise history.
- Cardinals TE Trey McBride made his first Pro Bowl in 2024 after putting up 111 receptions for 1,146 yards, shattering his own franchise record for receptions by a TE (81 in 2023). His 111 receptions are the 4th most in NFL history by a TE.
- RB James Conner had his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season (1,094 yards) in 2024 after doing so for the first time in 2023 (1,040 yards). QB Kyler Murray started all 17 games and threw for 3,851 yards and 21 TDs with a 93.5 rating. It was his 4th season with 3,000+ passing yards and 20+ TDs, trying him with Neil Lomax for the most seasons in team history for each metric.
- In his first season with Arizona in 2023, the Cardinals offense finished 4th in the NFL in rushing (2,365 yards) and 2nd in rushing average (5.02). It was just the second time since 1970 the Cardinals had a top-five rushing offense in the NFL (3rd in 1979).
- Prior to Cleveland, Petzing spent six seasons (2014-19) coaching with Minnesota. As the Vikings wide receivers coach in 2019, WR Stefon Diggs set a then career-high with 1,130 receiving yards and finished 4th in the league that season with a 17.9-yard average on 63 receptions.
- Working with Kirk Cousins in 2018, the Vikings QB set a team record for completions (425), threw for the third-most passing yards (4,298), had the second-highest completion percentage (70.1%) and recorded the fourth-highest passer rating (99.7) by a Viking in team history.
Drew Petzing is in his third season with the Cardinals and 13th in the NFL after being hired as Arizona's offensive coordinator on 2/21/23. He came to the Cardinals after spending the previous three years (2020-22) with Cleveland, including as the Browns quarterbacks coach in 2022.
Petzing coached Cleveland's tight ends for two years (2020-21) after spending six seasons (2014-19) as an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings. He was the Vikings wide receivers coach in 2019 after working as the assistant quarterbacks coach (2018) and assistant wide receivers coach (2014-17) with Minnesota. Petzing and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon coached together in Minnesota for four seasons (2014-17).
In his first two seasons leading the Cardinals offense, Arizona has put up two of the top-five single-season rushing yardage totals in franchise history: 2,365 in 2023 and 2,451 in 2024. The Cardinals 4,816 total rushing yards over the last two seasons (2023-214) ranked third in the NFL behind only Baltimore (5,850) and Philadelphia (5,238). In that same span, Arizona (5.16) joined Baltimore (5.34) as the only teams in the NFL to average at least five yards per carry.
In 2024, Petzing coordinated an offense that ran for 2,451 yards and 18 TDs on 463 carries (5.29 avg.). The 2,451 rushing yards represent the 3rd-best single-season total in franchise history and the most in a season since 1979. Arizona's 5.29 yards per carry average is the highest in team history, shattering the previous mark of 5.09 in 2019, and is also the 16th-best single season average in NFL history. Arizona featured one of the league's explosive rushing attacks again last season, with the Cardinals (4) joining the Ravens (4), Bills (4) and Eagles (4) as the only teams in the NFL with at least four TD runs of 40+ yards.
Petzing coordinated an Arizona offense that piled up 6,090 total net yards in 2024, marking just the 5th time in franchise history the team had 6,000+ total net yards in a season. Arizona featured a 3,000-yard passer (QB Kyler Murray), a 1,000-yard rusher (RB James Conner) and a 1,000-yard receiver (TE Trey McBride) in a single season for just the 5th-time in team history.
TE Trey McBride was selected to his first Pro Bowl after catching 111 passes for 1,146 yards and four total TDs. He shattered his own franchise single-season record for receptions by a tight end (81 in 2023) and joined Hall of Famer Jackie Smith as the only TEs in franchise history with 1,000+ receiving yards in a season. McBride's 111 receptions are the second-most in franchise history by a player at any position and also marked the 4th-best total in NFL history by a TE. McBride had three outings with 12 receptions last season, becoming the first TE in NFL history to have at least three games of 12+ receptions in a single season. He also became the first TE in league annals to have 12+ catches in back-to-back games. McBride's performance last season followed a breakout campaign under Petzing in 2023, one which saw the second-year TE lead the team with 81 receptions for 825 yards.
RB James Conner had his second consecutive 1,000-yard season (1,094 yards) after doing so for the first time in 2023 (1,040). He also had a career-high 1,508 scrimmage yards in 2024, his fifth-career season with 1,000+ scrimmage yards and fourth in a row with Arizona. Conner became just the third player in team history (Ottis Anderson, Edgerrin James) with multiple 1,000-yard seasons.
QB Kyler Murray started all 17 games in 2024 and completed 372-of-541 passes (68.8%) for 3,851 yards, 21 TDs and a 93.5 passer rating. He also ran for 572 yards and five TDs on 78 carries (7.3 yard avg.). It was Murray's 4th season with 20+ TD passes and his 4th with 3,000+ passing yards. He tied Neil Lomax for the most seasons in franchise history with 3,000+ passing and the most seasons with 20+ TD passes. In 2024, Murray became the third-youngest player in NFL history to reach 19,000+ passing yards and 3,000+ rushing yards in his career. In 2023, Muray started the final eight games of the season after returning from a serious knee injury that kept him out of action for 335 days. Murray threw for 1,799 yards and 10 TDs that season while rushing for 244 yards and three TDs. With Murray in the lineup, Arizona had the 9th ranked offense in the NFL.
Arizona had one of the top rushing attacks in 2023 after finishing the season 4th in the NFL in rushing (2,365 yards) and 2nd in rushing average (5.02) while leading the league with four games of 200+ rushing yards. The 2023 season marked just the second time since 1970 – and first time in 44 years – the Cardinals finished a season ranked in the top-5 in the league in rushing yards (3rd in 1979). The Cardinals led the NFL with 23 runs of 20+ yards in 2023, becoming one of only three teams in a 10-year span to have at least 23 runs of 20+ yards.
As QBs coach with the Browns in 2022, QB Jacoby Brissett started 11 games and completed 236-of-369 passes for 2,608 yards, 12 TDs, six INTs and an 88.9 QB rating. Brissett's 63.9 completion percentage and 88.9 passer rating were both career highs. QB Deshaun Watson started the final six games of the season and threw for 1,102 yards, seven TDs and five INTs. Both QBs combined to run for 418 yards and three TDs in 2022.
As tight ends coach with Cleveland for two seasons, Petzing's group helped the Browns become the only team in the league in 2021 to have at least three different tight ends each record at least three TDs as TE David Njoku led the team with four TDs. They also helped the Browns lead the NFL in rushing average (5.09-yard avg.) in 2021, the highest rushing average for the team since 1966.
In 2020, the Browns had three tight ends record multiple TDs, led by TE Austin Hooper who tied for second on the team with four TDs. Rookie TE Harrison Bryant led all rookie tight ends with three receiving TDs while Njoku had two TD receptions. Cleveland finished 3rd in the league in rushing (148.4 ypg) in 2020, the best average for the Browns since 1978.
During his tenure with Minnesota, Petzing helped the Vikings win two NFC North division titles (2015 & 2017) while also qualifying for the postseason as a Wild Card team in 2019. The 2017 Vikings went 13-3 and advanced to the NFC Championship. As Vikings wide receivers coach in 2019, WR Stefon Diggs set a then career-high with 1,130 receiving yards, his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. He finished 4th in the league that season with a 17.9-yard average on 63 receptions. Working with Kirk Cousins in 2018, the Vikings QB set a team record for completions (425), threw for the third-most passing yards (4,298), had the second-highest completion percentage (70.1) and recorded the fourth-highest passer rating (99.7) by a Viking in team history. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 4,000 yards, at least 30 passing TDs, 10 or fewer INTs and complete at least 70% of his passes in a season.
Petzing helped develop WR Adam Thielen, who began his career as an undrafted rookie free agent. In 2017, Thielen made his first Pro Bowl and was a second-team All-Pro selection after finishing 5th in the NFL (2nd in NFC) with a then career-high 1,276 receiving yards on 91 receptions. Diggs reached 200 career catches in 40 games, the fastest in team history to reach that milestone (record has since been eclipsed by Justin Jefferson). In addition to working with wide receivers in his first season in Minnesota, Petzing also helped coach Vikings running backs in 2014. As a rookie, RB Jerick McKinnon tied for 5th in the NFL with a 4.8-yard average (min 100 carries).
Petzing served as a graduate assistant at Boston College for two years (2010-11) after working as a volunteer assistant coach at Harvard in 2009. He then worked for one season (2012) as the outside linebackers coach at Yale before spending the 2013 season with the Browns as a football operations intern where he assisted the offense.
As a player, Petzing spent his first two years (2005-06) at Middlebury College as a defensive back before injuries cut short his playing career. A Wellesley, MA native, Petzing then served as a student assistant the next two years before graduating in 2009 with a degree in Economics and minors in Math and Philosophy. His brother, Dean, is an offensive assistant coach with the Carolina Panthers. He and his wife, Louisa, have a daughter, Emilia and son, Owen.
