When Detroit Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice finished his playing career in 2014, coaching wasn't at the forefront. Instead, he tried to jump into broadcasting first.
It wasn't until one of Choice's mentors, former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, asked him to coach a 7-on-7 team that Choice found his passion for coaching. On his first day, Choice gave one of the players advice —pick an aspect of their game to focus on once a day.
"The next week, Kitna said 'they loved you, the kids loved you being out there, could you come again next week?' I came out next week, and that kid found me as soon as I came to the field as he's like 'Coach, I'm going to work on catching the ball all the way in,'" Choice recounted to media this past week at the Meijer Performance Center.
That player was Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Jalen Reagor, a first-round draft pick in 2020.
"To be a servant to kids and starting in high school where you're working for free, to really see if you really want to develop and have to develop kids to even get the ball a certain way, to handoff a certain way, it struck me and since that day, I'd been bitten," Choice said.
Following eight seasons in the collegiate game, the Lions hired Choice this offseason to oversee the running back room, featuring Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Craig Reynolds and others. It's a reunion for Choice as he coached Gibbs at Georgia Tech and was a teammate of defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard in the NFL.
Choice credited former running backs coach Scottie Montgomery, who now coaches the receivers, for the impressive job the unit has done. In 2024, the group produced 2,362 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. The team rushed for at least 100 yards and a touchdown in 15 games. Gibbs and Montgomery led all NFL backfields with 32 combined scrimmage touchdowns.
"When you inherit a room that Scottie Montgomery has put together as far as the level of consistency, the guys in the room have the standard and the expectation to do well, so it's easy," Choice said.
"It's just a point where the group is so solid and every little detail, every little knickknack, I'm picking at it. For them to hear it and not get mad, or hear it and not want to listen, but hear and to be coachable to try to do and perform on the football field has been tremendous."
Choice said throughout his coaching career, he's learned from others about certain qualities to look for in running backs, such as agility and movement.
He remembered the first time he scouted Gibbs in-person, and Choice, who recruited Gibbs to Georgia Tech, said he knew Gibbs was a running back — some schools viewed him at defensive back.
"Having the chance to watch (Gibbs) from afar for these last three years, and every single week because of Shep and because of Jah, I kept wanting to watch the Lions' games," Choice said. "To see him progress, to see how smart he is — I tell him he's one of the smartest running backs I've ever coached. He's just a natural football player ... so having an opportunity to get around him now coaching, I'm going to be harder on him even more."
In addition to reuniting with Gibbs, Choice talked how special it is to be on the same staff as Sheppard as the two are both from Atlanta and played together with the Bills and Colts from 2011-13.
Choice talked to Sheppard every day while at Georgia Tech and Texas as he witnessed Sheppard's rise through the Lions' coaching staff from outside linebackers coach in 2021 to defensive coordinator this offseason.
"You can see his intent, you can see his development as a football coach," Choice said. "That's one of the things that drew me in here because I'd seen one of my closest friends who started from ground zero, to see where he's at right now, it's the coolest thing alive."
Choice said they have high standards for each other. It's an effort to make each other better, and their players better. One thing Choice said he's learned about the transition from player to coach is self-discipline and the importance of correcting bad habits when no one is watching.
"We hold each other accountable to that. If he's not doing something or he's doing something great, it just pushed me to do more and vice versa. And then if I'm wrong, he'll tell me," Choice said.
As the offseason continues, expect some banter between the two. Choice said he plans to trash talk Sheppard during training camp, but it's all part of the plan to motivate each other.
"You're going to think we don't like each other," Choice said. "That's how we are. That's the pushing part because we know the going gets tough, they're going to need that, that my players are going to want to feed off me, and I'm going to feed off of them. And he's the same way."
