The Detroit Lions have a new tight ends coach. It’s a promotion from within, but maybe not the one you were expecting. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Lions are promoting assistant offensive line coach Steve Oliver to tight ends coach rather than assistant tight ends coach Seth Ryan.
Oliver takes over for Tyler Roehl, who left the team after just one season to become Iowa State’s new offensive coordinator under Jimmy Rogers.
Oliver has been with the Lions for five seasons. First, he started as a quality control coach in 2021, then he got the promotion to assistant offensive line coach under Hank Fraley in 2023. He’s helped Detroit put together one of the strongest offensive lines in the league in 2023 and 2024, before the unit took a step back last year following the losses of Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t Oliver’s first time coaching tight ends. Prior to his time with the Lions, Oliver served as the tight ends coach at Idaho (2019) and the University of San Diego (2020).
Now, he’ll have a key role on the Lions’ staff. Not only will he be in charge of continuing the development of All-Pro Sam LaPorta, but under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, there is an expectation for Detroit to utilize two and three-tight end sets more often—even though Detroit already utilized some of those formations higher than league average.
This is just the latest of several changes made in the Lions’ offensive coaching staff. Here’s what we know so far:
- Drew Petzing hired as the new offensive coordinator
- Mike Kafka hired as a “high-ranking” offensive coach role
- Steve Oliver promoted to TE coach
As of right now, there are no other known changes to the Lions’ coaching staff, but Detroit often announces all of their changes at once.
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