Report: Lions hiring Scottie Montgomery as assistant head coach, RB coach

The Detroit Lions are filling the opening in their coaching staff following the departure of Duce Staley.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Detroit Lions are hiring Scottie Montgomery as their assistant head coach and running backs coach, filling the opening created after Duce Staley left to join the Carolina Panther staff to be closer to family.

“(Montgomery) is a strong and respected veteran addition to Detroit’s staff who multiple teams have had interest in,” per Pelissero.

As is the case with most of the Lions’ coaching staff, Montgomery is a former NFL player, who spent five seasons in the league. An undrafted wide receiver/returner/gadget player out of Duke, Montgomery signed as a UDFA with the Carolina Panthers in 2000. He joined the Broncos later that season and played in Denver for the next three years, before ending his NFL with the Raiders in 2003.

In 2006, he joined Duke as their wide receivers coach and then made his first move to the NFL to coach the Steelers’ receivers for three years. From there, he would return to Duke to be their associate head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for a couple of years.

He actually already has head coach experience, coaching for the East Carolina Pirates from 2016-18, but his most recent job was Indianapolis Colts running backs coach for the past two seasons, notably helping Jonathan Taylor become one of the league’s best running backs. In 2021, Taylor led the NFL in both rushing yards (1,811) and rushing touchdowns (18) under Montgomery’s tutelage.

In short, Montgomery is a well-respected mind who has experience playing in the NFL and coaching three different positions on offense (wide receivers, quarterbacks and running backs). Seems like a proper replacement for Staley.