Football <\/p>\n
Tashard Choice<\/a> finds himself in a familiar role with the Detroit Lions: coaching Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Choice<\/a>, who is entering his first year as Detroit’s running backs coach, served in the same role with Power 4 college football programs Georgia Tech (2019-2021) and Texas (2022-2024) prior to joining the Lions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, his time as an assistant at Georgia Tech overlapped with Gibbs\u2019 tenure with the Yellow Jackets. The now third-year pro in Gibbs<\/a> spent his first two collegiate seasons at Georgia Tech (2020-21) before transferring to Alabama for his final amateur season.<\/p>\n Subsequently, Choice<\/a> \u2013 a former NFL back and standout at Georgia Tech himself \u2013 saw first-hand the sheer talent of Gibbs. And he continued to keep tabs on the difference-making back, even as they advanced in their respective careers.<\/p>\n \u201cI always tell him, he\u2019s one of the smartest running backs I\u2019ve ever coached. He\u2019s just a natural football player,\u201d Choice said of Gibbs during his media session Tuesday. \u201cYou tell him something, he understands it, he gets it right down. You don\u2019t have to coach him over and over again on football stuff. It is easy to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo having an opportunity to get around him now, coaching \u2013 I\u2019m going to be harder on him, even more. Same way, like I tell him all day, \u2018Zero, he can\u2019t do anything right on the field.\u2019 But Jahmyr Gibbs, I love.\u201d<\/p>\n As he gets acclimated to his new job with the Lions, Choice also already has a pre-existing bond with new Detroit defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Choice and Sheppard, who previously served as the Lions\u2019 linebackers coach, each played with the Buffalo Bills (2011-12) and the Indianapolis Colts (2013).\u00a0<\/p>\n Choice<\/a> is proud of his longtime friend’s ascension to defensive coordinator, and it certainly helped draw him to the Motor City.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things that drew me in here, because I seen one of my closest friends go from ground zero to see where he\u2019s at right now. It\u2019s the coolest thing alive, man,\u201d Choice said of Sheppard. \u201cSo, I\u2019m excited for him because I know how he\u2019s built and I know what he wants to prove for himself. You know what I mean? I know how good he relates to the players and the coaches, and everybody loves \u2018Shep Dog.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n As much as he loves Sheppard<\/a>, it doesn’t mean that it will always seem like that on the practice field this summer. You can definitely expect the former teammates to actively trash-talk one another. And you never know, there might just be a fight that breaks out between the two coaches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to talk trash. We don\u2019t like each other. I may fight him. It\u2019s funny \u2013 when you\u2019re in them (enemy) lines, I hate him as a player on the team, but I love him at the same time. You know what I mean? But you\u2019ll see, that\u2019s how we are. That\u2019s the pushing part,\u201d Choice said of the dynamic between him and Sheppard. \u201cBecause we know when they\u2019re going against him, they\u2019re going to need that. My players are going to want to feed off of me. I\u2019m going to feed off of them, and he\u2019s the same way. So characteristics on how we are with our players are pretty similar.\u201d<\/p>\n Choice and Sheppard are part of a new-look Lions coaching staff for the 2025 season. Along with a first-year defensive coordinator in Sheppard<\/a>, Detroit will also have a new offensive coordinator in John Morton<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sheppard and Morton replaced Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson, respectively, both of whom departed for head coaching jobs earlier this offseason. Glenn left to become the head coach of the N.Y. Jets, while Johnson departed to take the Chicago Bears\u2019 head coaching gig.\u00a0<\/p>\n