The NFL announced on Tuesday that the Lions will play a game in Munich during the 2026 season and it sounds like veteran left tackle Taylor Decker plans on joining the team in Germany.
Decker said at the end of the 2025 season that he needed to take some time to assess whether he would return for an 11th season and an Instagram post on Tuesday afternoon suggests that he’s made up his mind. Decker posted a picture of himself running onto the field before a game with a biblical quote as the caption and he added "#Year11" at the end of the passage.
Decker appeared in 14 games during the 2025 season while playing through shoulder issues. He has started all 145 games he’s played since the Lions selected him in the first round in 2016.
The Lions have all of their starting offensive linemen under contract for 2026, but center Graham Glasgow’s future with the team is in some doubt. Glasgow could opt to retire and the Lions could release him in a cap move if he does decide to continue playing.
When he was interviewing offensive coordinator candidates, Dan Campbell didn’t take long to decide Drew Petzing was the right man for the Lions.
“He was the right fit,” Campbell said on Tuesday at the scouting combine. “I felt that within 20 minutes.”
Why?
“It was just the way that he talked, the way that he saw the game,” Campbell said. “Man, his confidence, his conviction, his knowledge, his detail in everything — why he was doing what he was doing, how he was thinking, how he was teaching it. [I] threw curveballs at him, and he was all over it. It was good, man.
“I just loved his presence and I love the way that he taught and I love the detail behind it. And then, I’ve seen the tape. I know what the tape is. And I just think he’s a creative guy and can make things happen. [His attitude is,] ‘Tell me what I’ve got and I’ll figure this out.’ I love that.”
Campbell added that he had been a fan of Petzing’s from afar, noticing what Petzing ran as Cardinals offensive coordinator.
“There was creativity to it. Certainly, they’ve used a lot of heavy sets lately, but that’s where their roster has gone. That’s not something that I foresee us being,” Campbell said. “We’re just going to be versatile. But he gives us that ability to make the most of what we have.
“And I just think he understands the protections, understands the run game, understands the pass game certainly, quarterback play. So, I think he’s got it all.”
Plus, Campbell was able to land Mike Kafka as the club’s passing game coordinator, bringing in more new energy and ideas to the offense.
“[O]ne of the guys I was really high on through that whole process was Mike Kafka, too. So, real fortunate to get him for our pass game coordinator,” Campbell said. “But, [he’s] a guy who’s been an interim head coach, has coached quarterbacks, has coached some good quarterbacks, run an offense. So he’s got a good perspective on things, got some pretty good ideas.”
Campbell sees it as a significant positive that the offensive staff now has a group with complementary skillsets.
“All of those guys, you’re always looking for something that’s maybe a little bit unique, or rare, or that somebody has that the other guy doesn’t — because now you can help each other out when you can lift each other up,” Campbell said. “And I do feel like we have that. It was important to keep this staff intact.
“What we did last year, what I did last year, it didn’t work. It wasn’t the perfect setup. I thought we would be able to work through those [issues] a little bit better than we did. It didn’t work out, all good. But I love this staff that is here intact. I know they’ll be able to work with Drew. Drew will be able to get those guys the directive and they’ll respond. That’s what they do. Those guys are doers. They go to work. So I’m fired up about it.”
For a couple of years, the Lions were able to balance playing both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs at running back, with each player accounting for at least 1,100 yards from scrimmage and at least 11 total touchdowns.
But things were a little different in 2025, with Montgomery’s role noticeably reduced as Gibbs continues to ascend.
In January, Detroit General Manager Bud Holmes said that trading Montgomery to a team that could utilize him more was an option for the offseason.
But Montgomery still has two years left on his contract with the Lions and both Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell expressed a desire to keep the running back during their respective Tuesday press conferences.
“I’ve been in touch with David’s agent, his representation,” Holmes said, adding the two sides have had “healthy dialogue.”
“We love David. He’s a great player. We’d love to have him. Kind of want to put last year in the rear view and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be in a certain place as well. So those conversations are still fluid and we’re just trying to see how it goes.”
Campbell noted how much he’d like to have Montgomery back and it sounds like new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing does, too.
“Certainly, he knows how I feel,” Campbell said. “Drew loves him — who wouldn’t? This guy’s a heck of a back. And so, we’ll just see where everything’s at. Certainly, there’s been healthy conversions … David’s a pro, so we’ll figure this out.”
Montgomery did not start a game in 2025, finishing with 716 yards rushing with eight touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 192 yards. In 2024, Montgomery had rushed for 775 yards with 12 touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 341 yards in just 14 games. Montgomery was on the field for 37 percent of the offensive snaps, which, ironically, was not much of a reduction from 2024, when he was on the field for 41 percent of offensive snaps in games played.
The Lions will be making a trip to Germany later this year.
The team announced that they will be one of the two teams taking part in a game in Munich during the 2026 season. The game will be played at the Allianz Arena, but the date and opponent will be announced later in the offseason.
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s mother is German and he shared his excitement about the news in a statement that was included in the team’s release about the game.
“It has been a dream of mine to play a game in my mother’s home country of Germany since coming to the league,” St. Brown said. “I cannot wait to play in front of the incredible fans that I’ve gotten to know through my visits and football camps in the country. Their support for me and the country’s instant connection to the Lions brand is inspiring, and I’m looking forward to our team getting to showcase Detroit football on an international scale.”
The game will be the NFL’s third in Munich. They have also played games in Frankfurt and Berlin as part of their international slate in past seasons.
We’ve known for some time that former Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka would be part of the Lions’ coaching staff in 2026 and the team officially announced his title on Monday.
Kafka will be the team’s offensive pass game coordinator. Kafka was 2-5 with the Giants after Brian Daboll was fired during the 2025 season and he spent the rest of his four-year run with the NFC East club as their offensive coordinator. He joins offensive coordinator Drew Petzing as key new faces on Dan Campbell’s offensive staff.
The Lions also announced that Dan Skipper will be an offensive assistant. Skipper retired in January after playing 66 games as an offensive tackle for Detroit.
Petzing, Kafka, and Skipper are joined on the offensive staff by associate head coach/wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery, quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell, running backs coach Tashard Choice, run game coordinator/offensive line coach Hank Fraley, assistant wide receivers coach Bruce Gradkowski, quality control coach Justin Mesa, tight ends coach Steve Oliver, pass game specialist David Shaw, and offensive assistant Marques Tuiasosopo.
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard will be joined by assistant head coach/safeties coach Jim O’Neil, defensive assistant Caleb Collins, senior defensive assistant/outside linebackers coach David Corrao, linebackers coach Shaun Dion Hamilton, defensive assistant August Mangin, run game coordinator/defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers, quality control coach Dre Thompson, and passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend.
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, assistant special teams coach Jett Modkins, head strength and conditioning coach Josh Schuler, assistant strength and conditioning coach/director of sports science Jill Costanza, assistant strength and conditioning coach Cam Josse, assistant strength and conditioning coach Thadeus Jackson, and chief of staff/head coach administration Jesse Giambra round out the 2026 staff in Detroit.
