The Detroit Lions have their new tight ends coach, promoting Steve Oliver to the position according to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. It fills the vacancy created when Tyler Roehl left the Lions to become Iowa State’s offensive coordinator.
Oliver will work with new Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and inherits a tight ends room that features one of the league’s top young stars in Sam LaPorta. LaPorta totaled 889 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches during his rookie season in 2023 as he garnered second-team All-Pro status and was named to the Pro Bowl.
LaPorta’s 2025 season was derailed by a back injury that required surgery and that limited the star tight end to just nine games. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end reeled in 40 grabs for 489 yards and three touchdowns this past season.
Oliver just completed his fifth season with the Lions and his third as Detroit’s assistant offensive line coach. During the 2023 campaign, the Lions totaled 2,311 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns en route to the franchise’s first division title in 30 years and a trip to the NFC Championship Game.
Then, in 2024, Detroit set a franchise record in rushing touchdowns (29) and games with 100 rushing yards (16) while also tying an NFL single-season record for games with 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown (15).
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs had another 1,000-yard rushing season in 2025, registering 1,223 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns on 243 carries.
Oliver initially joined the Lions in 2021 as an offensive quality control coach.
Prior to his time in the Motor City, Oliver played offensive line at San Diego from 2011-15, where he was coached by current Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley during the 2012 season. After his playing career concluded, Oliver began his coaching in 2016 as a graduate assistant at the University of Idaho as an offensive assistant, working primarily with the offensive line for two seasons.
During the spring of 2018, Oliver was named an assistant coach at Montana State-Northern, serving as the offensive line coach, run game coordinator and recruiting coordinator. Oliver would later be named Idaho’s director of operations in 2018, overseeing day-to-day operations of the program including team travel, logistics, meal planning and community involvement.
In 2019, Oliver served as Idaho’s tight ends coach before returning to his alma mater as San Diego’s tight ends coach in 2020.
Assuming LaPorta can heal, pairing with Petzing figures to be a great opportunity for Oliver. This past season as Arizona’s offensive coordinator, Petzing helped Cardinals tight end Trey McBride finish sixth in the league in receiving yardage and lead all tight ends in receiving yardage (1,239) and catches (126).
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Detroit Lions promote new TEs coach from in-house
Reporting by Josh Helmer, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
