Longhorns Country

Tashard Choice Leaving Texas Longhorns for Detroit Lions Coaching Position

After spurning other overtures in recent weeks, Texas Longhorns running backs coach Tashard Choice is heading to the NFL.
Matt Galatzan|
Texas Longhorns running backs coach Tashard Choice against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas Longhorns running backs coach Tashard Choice against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns have lost another one of their top assistants.

According to multiple reports, Longhorns running backs coach Tashard Choice will be leaving Austin to take a job on the Detroit Lions coaching staff under head coach Dan Campbell.

In Detroit, he will now reunite with former Georgia Tech and current Detroit Lions star running back Jahmyr Gibbs - a player who helped establish him as one of the premier talent evaluators, recruiters and developers in all of college football.

Choice
Texas Longhorns running backs coach Tashard Choice against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Following overtures from the Cowboys, Raiders and other NFL franchises, the 40-year-old had hinted at his decision to stay with the Longhorns earlier this month, tweeting a picture of his newborn daughter flashing a 'Hook'Em' sign with the quote, “Amya says Hook Em.”

However, it appears that the Lions offer was too good for him to pass up, and he is now off to the NFL.

Choice has been the RB coach at Texas since 2022, where he's coached NFL Draft picks like Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathon Brooks, and Keilan Robinson. Texas running back Jaydon Blue entered the 2025 NFL Draft and will be just the latest Longhorns ball carrier to have his name called on draft night.

Bijan Robinson was also the Doak Walker Award winner, a unanimous All-American, and earned his second first-team All-Big 12 honor with Choice. He was also previously the running backs coach at Georgia Tech, where he coached Gibbs.

He has also been recognized as one of the country's best recruiters. During his time in Austin, Choice has been the primary recruiter for Cedric Baxter, Ryan Wingo, Jerrick Gibson, Quintrevion Wisner, and Christian Clark over the last couple of years.

In recent years, he has landed Rickey Stewart, Emaree Winston and James Simon in the 2025 cycle and has the Longhorns as a top contender for Javian Osborn, who sits as one of the most coveted running backs in the 2026 class.

Now, the Longhorns must search for a replacement not only on the field for one of the best assistants in America, but also one of the best recruitiers in the sport.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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