The Detroit Lions continue to reconstruct their coaching staff this offseason and it’s led to some new faces joining the organization. While all jobs are important, the Lions needed to fill a hole for one of their biggest strengths when Scottie Montgomery was shifted from running backs to wide receivers coach on Thursday morning.
The running backs coach opening is significant as the Lions ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing last season behind David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. As a result, the Lions have tapped into a replacement that already has a connection to Detroit’s popular duo and will look to keep the ground game rolling in the wake of Ben Johnson’s departure next season.
Lions Hire Jahmyr Gibbs’s Old College Coach As New Running Backs Coach
According to 247Sports Matt Zenitz, the Lions are expected to hire current Texas running backs coach Tashard Choice to the same position on Dan Campbell’s staff. Choice was a former two-time All-ACC star with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 2006 and 2007 and most importantly was Gibbs’s coach when he arrived at Georgia Tech as a freshman in 2020.
The Detroit #Lions are expected to hire Texas’ Tashard Choice as their new running backs coach, a source tells @CBSSports/@247Sports https://t.co/qOetA1jj8s pic.twitter.com/z9cD0K3Tv1
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 13, 2025
Choice’s coaching career began in 2016 as a coaching intern with the Dallas Cowboys before he became a graduate assistant at North Texas the following season. Choice was promoted to running backs coach in 2018 before moving to his alma mater in 2019.
Gibbs arrived the following season and spent two seasons starring for the Yellow Jackets including running for 746 yards and four touchdowns and catching 36 passes for 470 yards and two touchdowns in his sophomore season in 2021. Gibbs transferred to Alabama the following season and Choice went on to Texas where he coached Bijan Robinson in 2022 and stayed with the Longhorns through last season’s run to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
WIth Choice in the fold, the Lions will have another key addition to Dan Campbell’s staff as they look to build off a NFC-best 15-2 record from last season.