The Detroit Lions have seen a ton of turnover this offseason. After getting eliminated in the Divisional Round, multiple coaches left town for new opportunities. That left holes along the Lions coaching staff, but they took the past couple of weeks to make new additions.
On Tuesday, the Detroit Lions' official X page announced their 2025 coaching staff.
#Lions announce 2025 coaching staff
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 18, 2025
Lions Introduce Coaching Staff for 2025 Season
The coaching staff goes as follows:
- Scottie Montgomery – Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers
- John Morton – Offensive Coordinator
- Kelvin Sheppard – Defensive Coordinator
- Dave Fipp – Special Teams Coordinator
- Mark Brunell – Quarterbacks
- Tashard Choice – Running Backs
- Caleb Collins – Defensive Assistant
- David Corrao – Senior Defensive Assistant/Outside Linebackers
- Hank Fraley – Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
- Bruce Gradkowski – Offensive Assistant
- Shaun Dion Hamilton – Linebackers
- August Mangin – Defensive Assistant
- Justin Mesa – Offensive Quality Control
- Jett Modkins – Assistant Special Teams
- Steve Oliver – Assistant Offensive Line
- Jim O'Neil – Defensive Assistant/Safeties
- Kacy Rodgers – Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line
- Tyler Roehl – Tight Ends
- Seth Ryan – Assistant Tight Ends
- David Shaw – Passing Game Coordinator
- Dre Thompson – WCF Minority Coaching Assistant/Defensive Quality Control
- Deshea Townsend – Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs
- Marques Tuiasosopo – Offensive Assistant
- Mike Clark – Director of Sports Performance
- Jill Costanza – Director of Sports Science
- Josh Schuler – Head Strength & Conditioning
- Corey Smith – Assistant Strength & Conditioning
- Jesse Giambra – Chief of Staff/Head Coach Administration
Tashard Choice is the new running backs coach after spending three seasons (2022-2024) as the running backs coach at the University of Texas. Choice played a role in three different players producing 1,000-yard campaigns (Tre Wisner in 2024, Jonathon Brooks in 2023, Bijan Robinson in 2022). Choice also played in the NFL from 2008-2013, making stops with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, and Indianapolis Colts.
Caleb Collins is another coach making a jump from the college ranks to the pros. He will be the Lions defensive assistant after being the Baylor Bears' outside linebackers coach from 2021 to 2024.
Bruce Gradkowski is a former NFL player who was a sixth-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played eight years in the league before heading into coaching. He was an offensive analyst at his alma mater Toledo in 2022 before spending the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the UFL.
August Mangin is on the Lions coaching staff after being on the San Francisco 49ers staff for the last four campaigns. During his time there, Mangin was a special teams quality control/game management specialist.
Justin Mesa is another coach who will use his experience in college football to make a difference in the NFL. For the last four seasons, Mesa was on the Washington State staff. He was an assistant special teams/assistant tight ends coach in 2024, an offensive quality control coach from 2022-23 and the director of transfer recruiting in 2021.
Tyler Roehl has experience on the coaching staffs at Iowa State and North Dakota State. This jump to the NFL is his first taste of the pros and he'll have a duty of coaching up Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright.
Kacy Rodgers is one of the biggest additions to the Lions staff. Rodgers was on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff for the past six seasons as their run game coordinator/defensive line coach. He'll have the same role in Detroit. During his time with the Bucs, Tampa Bay allowed the fewest rushing yards (9,378) and the lowest rushing average (3.98). They also racked up the second-most sacks (281) in the league during that time.
David Shaw is a former head coach who has experience in college. Shaw was the head coach at Stanford from 2011-2022 and was the winningest coach in program history (96 wins). This past season, he served as senior personnel executive for the Denver Broncos in 2024.
The Lions have made a ton of changes on their coaching staff but are ready to bounce back in 2025 after an early postseason exit.