The Detroit Lions announced their full 2025 coaching staff Tuesday, and once again it’s loaded with former NFL players.
Of the 10 new assistants on staff, five have previous NFL playing experience.
New offensive coordinator John Morton, the fastest player at the 1993 NFL combine, never appeared in an NFL game but spent parts of four seasons with three different teams. First-year running backs coach Tashard Choice played for four NFL teams in his six-year career. And new assistants Kacy Rodgers, Bruce Gradkowski and Marques Tuiasosopo also spent time in the NFL.
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Lions coach Dan Campbell, a former NFL tight end, has long looked to former players to fill vacancies on his staff. This year, he promoted former Lions linebackers Kelvin Sheppard and Shaun Dion Hamilton to be the team’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, respectively, and the Lions employ 12 coaches who were former players overall.
Along with Morton, who spent the 2022 season with the Lions as a senior offensive assistant, Choice, Rodgers and Gradkowski, the team’s new assistants are passing game coordinator David Shaw, the former head coach at Stanford; tight ends coach Tyler Roehl, the assistant head coach last season at Iowa State; offensive assistant Marques Tuiasosopo, a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2001, when Morton was an assistant with the team; offensive quality control coach Justin Mesa, who worked with Morton at USC in 2007-10; and defensive assistants Caleb Collins and August Mangin, who spent time with Sheppard as a coach and player, respectively.
The Lions lost eight assistants to new jobs this offseason: Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left to become head coach of the Chicago Bears and took Antwaan Randle El and J.T. Barrett with him as assistants; defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn took the head coaching job with the New York Jets and hired Tanner Engstrand, Steve Heiden and Cam Davis as assistants; and Terrell Williams left to become defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.
Here is the Lions’ full coaching staff for 2025 (new assistants in bold):
- Head coach: Dan Campbell
- Offensive coordinator: John Morton
- Defensive coordinator: Kelvin Sheppard
- Special teams coordinator: Dave Fipp
- Pass game coordinator: David Shaw
- Assistant head coach/WRs coach: Scottie Montgomery
- QBs coach: Mark Brunell
- Assistant QBs coach: Bruce Gradkowski
- OL coach/run game coordinator: Hank Fraley
- Assistant OL coach: Steve Oliver
- RBs coach: Tashard Choice
- TEs coach: Tyler Roehl
- Assistant TEs coach: Seth Ryan
- Offensive assistant: Marques Tuiasosopo
- Offensive quality control: Justin Mesa
- DL coach/defensive run game coordinator: Kacy Rodgers
- LBs coach: Shaun Dion Hamilton
- Senior defensive assistant/OLBs: Dave Corrao
- Defensive pass game coordinator/DBs coach: Deshea Townsend
- Defensive assistant/safeties: Jim O’Neil
- Defensive assistant: Caleb Collins
- Defensive assistant: August Mangin
- Defensive quality control/WCF minority assistant: Dre Thompson
- Assistant special teams coach: Jett Modkins
