Tag: Scottie Montgomery

Lions coach Scottie Montgomery interviews for the Cowboys OC position

Lions coach Scottie Montgomery interviews for the Cowboys OC position

With all the coaching carousel chaos over the last couple of weeks in Detroit, one name has been noticeably out of the spotlight. Assistant head coach and RB coach Scottie Montgomery, considered to be a prime candidate for Detroit’s coordinator vacancy and other outside roles, has not interviewed for any known role.

That has now changed. Montgomery has interviewed to become the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.

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Montgomery is one of several candidates interviewing for the role under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.

2nd interview scheduled for Cowboys OC frontrunner as new candidate emerges

From @ToddBrock24f7: Scottie Montgomery has led Detroit’s RBs to excellent numbers. He’ll interview for the OC job, but Klayton Adams is on his follow-up chat.

The Cowboys appear to be closing in on their next offensive coordinator, but names of candidates are still being added to the mix.

Reports indicate that Arizona offensive line coach Klayton Adams is interviewing in-person at The Star on Friday. It’s the second interview for the 41-year-old, following a previous virtual conversation with the front office.

Though he has not yet been in an OC role, Adams is considered an up-and-comer within coaching circles and is thought by many to be the strong frontrunner for the job in Dallas, where newly-named head coach Brian Schottenheimer will call his own plays during games.

But a member of Dan Campbell’s staff in Detroit is also getting a look from the Cowboys, per reports. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the team also interviewed Lions running backs coach and assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery for the position.

Montgomery, 46, worked as the Colts’ running backs coach in 2021 and 2022 after a long stint in the college ranks in various roles, including OC duties at both Maryland and Duke and three years as head coach at East Carolina.

While his name may not be one that most Cowboys fans are immediately familiar with, his former coordinator in Detroit has no doubt he’s ready for the next step in his NFL coaching journey.

“He’s got a unique perspective because he’s been in that head chair at the college level, and you feel that when you’re in the meeting room,” Ben Johnson said just last month of Montgomery, per The Detroit News. “He understands how lonely it can be at the top at times.”

Johnson now finds himself at the top in Chicago, and he believes Montgomery is on the same track.

“He’s certainly ready to call plays,” Johnson added. “He’s done that in the past. Whenever he gets that opportunity, he’ll do that. And I think he’s going to be a heck of a great head coach one day when he gets that chance.”

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Under Montgomery’s tutelage, the Lions finished the 2024 season ranked sixth in the league in rushing yards and yards per carry and were tied for the second-most rushing touchdowns. The previous year, Detroit ranked fifth in the same yardage categories and were tied for league lead in ground scores.

Falcons tight ends coach Kevin Koger has also sat down with the Cowboys about their offensive coordinator vacancy. Additionally, former Browns and Bills OC Ken Dorsey was supposedly drawing interest from the Dallas front office, but no interview with him has been made public.

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Analyzing potential Lions internal candidates as offensive coordinator replacements for Ben Johnson

Analyzing potential offensive coordinator replacements for Ben Johnson already on the Lions staff

The Detroit Lions are out of the playoffs earlier than expected, immediately ramping up the coaching carousel in the NFL.

Head coach Dan Campbell said Monday he’s preparing for the possibility that he loses both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. That quickly became a reality as reports came out later that afternoon that the Chicago Bears were finalizing a deal to bring Johnson in as their new head coach.

Let’s take a look at possible internal replacements for the highly-touted OC.

Tanner Engstrand

The Lions are likely to keep their offensive coordinator search in-house, immediately bringing to mind passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand.

Engstrand has served five seasons with the Lions, just finishing his second in his current position. The Lions’ passing game ranked second in the league in passing yards this season and helped Jared Goff establish himself as a key part of one of the best offenses in the NFL.

This choice feels as close as you can get to keeping pace with what Johnson established with the Lions offense.

Scottie Montgomery

Assistant head coach/running backs coach Scottie Montgomery is another in-house option for the Lions.

Montgomery has 18 years of coaching experience in either the NFL or college and his work has helped the Lions become one of the premier rushing attacks in the league. In 2024, the Lions ranked sixth in rushing yards and tied for second in rushing touchdowns.

He’ll be a coach Campbell can trust immediately, and his experience justifies the opportunity for a promotion.

Antwaan Randle El

It would also fit the makeup of this Lions team to promote a coach like Antwaan Randle El.

Randle El has been the Lions wide receivers coach for five years and has been an obvious voice of reason and leadership on the sidelines for a talented receiving core.

Before coming to the Lions he spent two seasons as an offensive assistant in Tampa Bay, picking up a Super Bowl ring in the process.

Randle El fits the mold Campbell has used to gather his staff to this point, which includes experienced coaches who were also above-average professional players during their careers.

Hank Fraley

Hank Fraley has spent the most time with the Lions among the top candidates for this job.

Fraley just finished his seventh season with the team, the last five of which he’s served as offensive line coach. He’s been a mainstay on this team as it’s grown into what it was this season behind one of the better offensive lines in football throughout his tenure.

There’s a risk that Johnson could poach a coach like Fraley for his staff in Chicago, but if he stays, he could be an easy culture fit for the open OC job in Detroit.

Lions looking for Jahmyr Gibbs to ‘go to that next level’ as a receiver

Lions assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery lays out how Jahmyr Gibbs can improve in Detroit’s passing offense

Jahmyr Gibbs had one heck of a rookie season for the Detroit Lions. Yet the team believes he can do even more in his second season in Ben Johnson’s offense.

The first-round running back showed off good hands as a receiver in 2023, catching 52 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown. The catch ratio, hailing in 52 of his 71 targets, is impressive. The yards per reception and general diversity of his passing game usage could stand some improvement.

Lions assistant head coach and RBs coach Scottie Montgomery laid out how Gibbs can become even more dangerous as a receiver.

“What we need him to do from a passing game standpoint is go to that next level,” Montgomery said. He then explained what that entailed for Gibbs.

“I do think there’s a certain difference between route running from the backfield and being a really, really sufficient and efficient check-down runner vs. what it is to be a great route runner, a guy that can run all types of choice (routes). We know we’ve seen him do those things, but now can you go into the slot and do a little bit more down the field? Some intermediate stuff, can we continue to grow him there? And that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Gibbs did not work out during the OTA session open to the media last week. The Lions have a mandatory minicamp this week.

Lions assistant Scottie Montgomery is part of this year’s NFL coach accelerator program

Lions assistant Scottie Montgomery is part of this year’s NFL coach accelerator program

Every year, the NFL invites several younger assistant coaches to a developmental program. One of this year’s invitees to the NFL Coach Accelerator program is Lions assistant head coach and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery.

This edition took place at the NFL’s spring meeting in Nashville during the week. Montgomery, who previously participated in the program while he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts coaching staff, is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks and does have pervious head coaching experience at the college level.

More about the Coach Accelerator program from the NFL’s press release,

The accelerator serves as a platform for clubs and owners to engage with qualified coaching candidates from diverse backgrounds. Candidates can build relationships with club owners and executives and further develop and hone their leadership skills. To date, the program has successfully contributed to an increase in diverse candidates being interviewed for open positions, and many past participants have been promoted and hired into more senior coaching positions.

Lions assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery offers great insight into the coaching approach in Detroit

Montgomery offered several great responses that highlight the Lions servant leadership-based coaching approach under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes

“None of us are as smart as all of us.”

There might not be a better quote to epitomize the coaching philosophy of the Dan Campbell regime with the Detroit Lions. It’s a collective approach that embraces divergent voices and puts selfish agendas aside.

Campbell wasn’t the man who said the above quote. Assistant head coach and RB coach Scottie Montgomery made the astute declaration prior to Wednesday’s practice session.

Montgomery showed his personal intelligence on several questions, offering thoughtful responses that reflect his background as a former collegiate head coach. He noted how empowered he is by Campbell to lead the team in his own way and how there is collective trust amongst the coaching staff.

“He’s put me in front of the team on several occasions now,” Montgomery said of the head coach. “He gives me different abilities to not only interject things that I’ve learned before, from a schematical standpoint but also some leadership capabilities. We’re trying to grow the team.”

Montgomery noted the theme of continuity and collective vision.

“The things that it takes from being good to great, and then from great to unstoppable, a lot of that has nothing to do with scheme. It has to do with fit, it has to do with timing. But it also has to do with the ability of the coaches to understand that it’s a player-led team.”

The mission of developing a true team that values input from all its coaches, as well as the players, is perhaps the biggest hallmark of the Lions regime under Campbell and GM Brad Holmes. Montgomery encapsulated that concept, too.

“When I do have the ability to stand in front of the team, I’m not standing in front of the team. Dan is standing in front of the team, AG (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) is standing in front of the team and Ben (offensive coordinator Ben Johnson) is standing in front of the team. I’m simply the guy speaking the words.”

That sort of selfless attitude and servant leadership has helped several coaches land opportunities for higher positions outside the organization. Montgomery, who has had interviews for NFL head coaching positions in the past, didn’t want to think that far ahead.

“Right now, you know what I want to be? I want to be the best at what I’m doing,” Montgomery said. “What I’ve found is that, as long as I’m continuing to do that, the progression (in a coaching career) will happen.”

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Lions’ Scottie Montgomery selected for NFL’s Coach Accelerator program for 2023

Lions’ assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery selected for NFL’s Coach Accelerator program for 2023

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The Detroit Lions only recently hired Scottie Montgomery as the team’s assistant head coach and running backs coach, but he’s already proving to be a hot commodity. Montgomery was named as one of the 40 participants in this year’s NFL Coach Accelerator program later this month.

What exactly is that? From the NFL’s press release on the Coach Accelerator program,

The Coach Accelerator aims to increase exposure between owners, executives, and diverse coaching talent, providing ample opportunity to develop and build upon their relationships. In a change to the nomination process this year, clubs were able to nominate those from outside of their organization, which promotes recognition and growth beyond one’s current club.

The 40 participants this year are attending based on their high potential to be considered for a Head Coach position in the future. Sixteen of the participants will be returning from the May 2022 Accelerator cohort.

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Montgomery joined the Lions after coaching with the Indianapolis Colts, among his many stops on the coaching trail. Being a part of the program is an indication that Montgomery is viewed as a coach with upward mobility.

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Scottie Montgomery: What the Lions are getting, in Dan Campbell’s own words

Scottie Montgomery: What the Lions are getting in their new assistant head coach and RB coach, in Dan Campbell’s own words

The Lions hired Scottie Montgomery as the team’s new assistant head coach and RB coach recently. Montgomery came over from the Indianapolis Colts to take on the opening left when Duce Staley left Detroit for the same position in Carolina.

For the first time since the hiring, head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media about Montgomery. It was the lead item in his NFL Scouting Combine press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Here’s what Campbell said about Montgomery, which includes the tidbit that Campbell interviewed Montgomery for the offensive coordinator job when he was hired in 2021:

“Scottie’s one of those guys, and I interviewed him for the OC position last year, which ended up, (we) went with Ben Johnson. And I was impressed. And that’s why these interviews, it may not work out at the time, but man everything happens for a reason. And so to be able to acquire him as our running back coach/assistant head coach from the Colts, man, was big.”

Coach Campbell continued, getting more into where Montgomery can help,

“So I think he’s going to be an outstanding teacher. I think he’s got a lot of versatility. He’s coached the receivers, he’s coached running backs. He’s been a head coach, he’s been a coordinator. He’s worked with quarterbacks. So I just think that this is a talented coach, man, that’s got a lot of wisdom. He’s a motivator, energy. So we’re happy to have him.”

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Assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery will remain with the Lions

Montgomery interviewed to be the new OC in Tampa Bay but the Bucs hired Dave Canales of the Seahawks instead

New Lions assistant head coach and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery will not be leaving the Lions to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Montgomery, hired by the Lions a little over a week ago, interviewed for the offensive coordinator vacancy in Tampa Bay just days after being hired by the Lions. Montgomery was previously the RB coach for the Indianapolis Colts and has prior coordinator and head coaching experience at the collegiate level.

The Buccaneers opted to hire Dave Canales from the Seattle Seahawks to become their new offensive coordinator.

There are still some openings around the league as teams finalize their staffs, but Montgomery is not known to be a candidate for any other opening.

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Buccaneers interview new Lions coach Scottie Montgomery for their offensive coordinator

Montgomery was hired by Detroit just last week as the new assistant head coach and RBs coach, replacing Duce Staley

Scottie Montgomery has barely been with the Detroit Lions coaching staff for a week, but he’s already in demand around the league.

Montgomery, hired on February 6th as the Lions’ new assistant head coach and RB coach, interviewed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday to become that team’s offensive coordinator. The Buccaneers confirmed the interview publicly.

The Lions would have had to grant permission for Montgomery to interview, though an arrangement could have been worked out before his official hiring in Detroit.

The Buccaneers have interviewed several candidates to replace Byron Leftwich as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator. Montgomery is the ninth person to interview for the job in the last three weeks.

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