When the Bears scooped up Ben Johnson to be their new head coach, it set off a bit of a domino effect—one that just happened to reunite Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs with a familiar face.
Johnson, who’d been Detroit’s offensive coordinator the past three seasons, left for Chicago and brought along Antwaan Randle El to coach the Bears’ receivers and serve as assistant head coach. That left a hole in Detroit’s staff, so the Lions reshuffled things—moving Scottie Montgomery from running backs to wide receivers—and brought in Texas RB coach Tashard Choice to fill the gap.
That name should ring a bell for Gibbs fans. Choice coached him back at Georgia Tech in 2020 and 2021, and now he’s back in the picture.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” Choice said about Gibbs. “But I’m gonna push him. I’m gonna push him like nobody else will. I have to.”
After 2021, both Choice and Gibbs moved on—Choice to Texas, and Gibbs to Alabama. There, Gibbs racked up 926 rushing yards, seven TDs on the ground, and caught 44 passes for 444 yards and three more scores in 2022. The Lions took him at No. 12 in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Since then, Gibbs has done nothing but shine. In just two seasons, he’s made two Pro Bowls and piled up 2,357 rushing yards, 26 rushing TDs, 104 catches, 833 receiving yards, and five receiving scores. He and Edgerrin James are the only players ever to put up those kinds of numbers in their first two years.
Choice is clearly a big believer: “He’s one of the smartest backs I’ve ever coached. You tell him something once, and boom—he’s got it. It’s like coaching a natural.”
He’s not planning on going easy on Gibbs, either. “I joke with him—Zero [his jersey number] can’t do anything right on the field. But Jahmyr Gibbs? That guy, I love. Same goes for David Montgomery. When they’re on the field, I’m coaching players, not people. And I’m coaching them to get better.”
Gibbs and Montgomery have become one of the league’s best duos. Over the last two seasons, Montgomery’s racked up 1,790 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns, plus another 458 yards through the air. Together, they’re the only RB pair in NFL history to both notch 10+ rushing TDs in back-to-back seasons.
Choice said it was obvious from day one that Gibbs was special—he even had colleges trying to recruit him as a defensive back.
“The first time I saw him in person, he broke off a run and my buddy just looked at me like, ‘Okay, this guy’s different.’ He could’ve played DB, special teams, whatever. But as a running back? He’s just got it. That vision, the ability to make people miss—even defenders he’s not even looking at—those are rare traits.”
The Lions start OTAs on May 28. That’ll be the first real chance to see Gibbs and Choice back in action together—and it sounds like Gibbs is about to get pushed to another level.
New Lions Coach Has Big Plans for Jahmyr Gibbs: “No Slacking on My Watch”
