For his last time as Detroit Lions tight ends coach, Tyler Roehl took the podium on Wednesday afternoon. Roehl has already been announced as the next offensive coordinator for the Iowa State Cyclones, a job he accepted at the beginning of the month.
Roehl has only spent a single year with the Lions—his first job at the NFL ranks—but he admitted on Wednesday that an opportunity to return to Iowa State, where he had served as the team’s assistant head coach and running backs coach in 2023, was too good to pass up. Particularly alluring was the opportunity to call plays and return to a part of the country that meant a lot to him.
“This is one that’s very special to me,” Roehl said. “I want to call plays. That’s my goal. I did it for a long time at North Dakota State, and in this one with coach Jimmy Rogers—in Ames, Iowa—a place that I’m familiar with, a place that my family loved, we admired. When everything started coming full circle, everything started aligning, and just trusted my gut, talked to my family, my wife, and my kids. Not a lot of people see the background of these moves and whatnot. It meant a lot ot me for their support, their desire to be back in Ames, and we’re fired up.”
But before Roehl departed for the college ranks, he wanted to see it through. It hasn’t been an easy year for the tight end room. They’ve been missing their top two tight ends for the past couple of months, they’ve missed one of their primary reserves (Shane Zylstra) for nearly the entire season, and Roehl has had to onboard several players who didn’t start the season with the team. The last thing Roehl wanted to do was to abandon that room.
“I’m not a quitter. I always say you quit once, you quit forever. I just wanted to see it through,” Roehl said. “Dan (Campbell) wanted to keep me here for the year, and we were definitely in alignment on that.”
Roehl will be taking back a ton of experiences and lessons to the college ranks, and was clearly very grateful for an opportunity with the Lions that he “loved.” He credited coaches Dan Campbell and Hank Fraley for allowing him to view the tight end and offensive line positions differently moving forward.
“I’ve learned a lot, a lot. My growth as a coach, as a teacher, understanding really a pro system,” Roehl said. “I have learned so much, and the things that I’ll be able to take back. I’ve really had a system that we ran at North Dakota State: pro style, under center, multiple with motion, run the ball, passing efficiency. Now there’s a whole different element that I’m able to add to my playbook. Things that allow me to be even more multiple.”
As for who will take over in 2026 for the Lions, that much hasn’t been discussed publicly with the media. The Lions do have an assistant tight ends coach in Seth Ryan. Roehl gave him a nice little endorsement on the way out.
“Seth is an extremely bright young coach. I think I talked about this earlier, his knowledge and understanding of the pass game is exponential,” Roehl said. “His growth in the run game, where he was able to come—whether it be asking questions about technique. ‘If I see it this way, this scheme vs. this front? What would we do, maybe vs. this front or this pressure?’ No, he’s grown a lot even in the short time that I’ve been able to be around him. I’m excited for his future, because it’s very bright.”
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