Reports: Texas RBs coach Tashard Choice will join the Detroit Lions staff, reuniting with Jahmyr Gibbs

Choice turned down other NFL opportunities, but the chance to coach his former star player was too much to pass up.

Ten days after the Texas Longhorns were able to retain running backs coach Tashard Choice despite interviewing with the Dallas Cowboys and receiving other NFL interest, Choice is heading to the next level after all with reports emerging on Thursday morning that he’s joining the Detroit Lions coaching staff.

Not only has Dan Campbell brought a level of stability to the Lions organization entering his fifth season as head coach coming off consecutive first-place finishes in the NFC North, the star running back for Detroit is Jahmyr Gibbs, who played for Choice at Georgia Tech.

Gibbs passed up some opportunities at blue-blood programs due to his belief in Choice, a Yellowjackets alum, helping to fuel Choice’s quick rise in the coaching world that continued on the Forty Acres.

Choice reportedly received a raise to initially remain with the Longhorns, bumping his salary from $700,000 to more than $800,000 in rebuffing the interest from the Cowboys in addition to the Las Vegas Raiders and New Orleans Saints.

It was a significant development for Texas at the time, especially considering Choice’s ties to Dallas — the Cowboys were the team that selected him in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft before playing three-plus seasons for Jerry Jones and starting his coaching career in Dallas as an intern in 2016.

Choice rose quickly up the coaching ranks, going from graduate assistant at North Texas to assistant at North Texas, taking a job at Georgia Tech, then briefly joining Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC before replacing Stan Drayton at Texas.

With the Longhorns, Choice coached four NFL Draft picks at his position over two years with early entrant Jaydon Blue set to become the fifth. As a recruiter, Choice’s ties to Georgia made him a valuable member of the coaching staff across positions in addition to elite results at running back, including landing CJ Baxter in 2023, the nation’s top running back.

Now Texas will have to deal with some immediate recruiting fallout as Alabama running back Ezavier Cowell, a top-150 prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings, expressed shock at the decision by Choice in an interview with Rivals and immediately canceled his official visit to Austin scheduled for early June.

Like new Longhorns defensive line coach Kenny Baker was forced to do last year, Choice’s replacement will have to make up ground in recruiting, but will arrive at Texas with a talented position room and overall program infrastructure set up for success.