What Tashard Choice Brings as New Lions Running Backs Coach

Choice has coached elite talent at college level.

New Detroit Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice (20). / Thomas Campbell-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions made a strong addition to their coaching staff, tabbing Tashard Choice to lead the running back room.

Adding Choice will move Scottie Montgomery to the wide receivers coach role, an indication of how strong the organization must feel about Choice. A former NFL player who was a standout at Georgia Tech, Choice has coached several elite talents in his career to this point.

Here's a look at Choice's journey to Detroit, as well as his experience as a coach to this point in his career.

Playing career

A standout at Lovejoy High School in Georgia, Choice committed to Oklahoma in their 2003 class. He redshirted as a freshman and was set to start the following year, but suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him early in the year.

The player who passed Choice on the depth chart was a freshman named Adrian Peterson, who went on to become a Heisman finalist. After a season in which he carried the ball 23 times for 100 yards, Choice was granted a medical hardship waiver and transferred to Georgia Tech to be closer to his family.

Choice had a solid season in his first year with the Yellow Jackets, then broke out in 2006 to the tune of 1,473 yards and 12 touchdowns. He followed that campaign with 1,379 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2008 draft.

Choice's most productive season statistically was his rookie year, when he got an extended look due to injuries at the position in Dallas. He notched 472 yards and two scores on 92 carries. The following year, he notched 349 rushing yards.

His usage dipped in his third NFL season, and ahead of his fourth the team drafted Oklahoma's Demarco Murray. The Georgia Tech producted was eventually waived in October of 2011 and was eventually claimed by Washington.

Choice's tenure in Washington was short-lived, as he appeared in just one game before being waived yet again. This time, he landed in Buffalo and rushed for 70 yards on 23 carries over the final six games of the season.

In 2012, he remained with Buffalo and notched 193 rushing yards on 47 carries. He played 12 games with Buffalo the following year before being released in December. Choice finished the year with three games as an Indianapolis Colts, which would be the final action of his NFL career.

Coaching resume

2016 — Dallas Cowboys coaching intern

2017 — North Texas Mean Green graduate assistant

2018 — North Texas Mean Green running backs coach

2019-21 — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running backs coach

2022-24 — Texas Longhorns running backs coach

Notable players coached

In his first year leading a room, Choice coached a North Texas team that was led in rushing by freshman Deandre Torrey. That year, Torrey burst onto the scene with 977 rushing yards and 17 all-purpose touchdowns.

The following year, he returned home to take over the running back room of his alma mater at Georgia Tech. Sophomore Jordan Mason led the team that year with 899 rushing yards. Mason may be a familiar name, as he had a career year in 2024 for the San Francisco 49ers.

Choice coached Lions star running back Jahmyr Gibbs for the final two years of his tenure with the team. In two years with the program, Gibbs notched 1,206 rushing yards and eight touchdowns before transferring to Alabama for his final season.

After the 2021 campaign, Choice went to Texas to coach the Longhorns. There, he became the leader of a room that featured three future NFL running backs in Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson and Jonathon Brooks.

Robinson would rush for over 1,000 yards in each of his two seasons under Choice's leadership, including a whopping 1,580 yards in 2022 en route to being the sixth overall pick in the draft. Johnson, meanwhile, had over 550 yards in each of his two campaigns working with choice and was drafted in the fourth round by the Texas Longhorns.

Brooks broke out in 2023, posting 1,139 rushing yards in his first season as the lead back. He was drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft by the Carolina Panthers.

This past season, the Longhorns had two standout running backs in Tre Wisner and Jaydon Blue. Wisner led the team with 1,064 rushing yards, while Blue finished with 730 yards on the ground.

Wisner still has another year before being draft eligible, but Blue declared and is expected to be a mid-to-late-round pick.

Choice also has a long-standing friendship with Kelvin Sheppard, who called the new member of the staff one of his best friends during a recent interview with FOX 2.

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