The brain drain continues for the Detroit Lions. After losing Ben Johnson, Antwaan Randle El, and J.T. Barrett to the Bears, the Jet,s and former Lions DC Aaron Glenn have come along and stolen another. ‘
This time tight ends coach Steve Heiden will be heading to New York to be the Jets’ new offensive line coach.
Heiden didn’t spend too much time with the Lions, but he left his mark for sure. He came on in 2023 and helped Sam LaPorta have the huge rookie year that he had. In 2024 the Lions’ tight ends took a bit of a step back at the beginning of the season but really caught on later in the year.
Now that this spot is open, the Lions are going to be on the lookout for a new tight end coach to fill the role. We have two candidates to keep an eye on.
Tulane offensive line coach Dan Roushar
Roushar was with Dan Campbell in New Orleans and he’s actually the guy that Campbell replaced as the tight ends coach there. Roushar is also the guy who replaced Dan Campbell after he left.
While on the older side of things, Roushar is a guy who has a history of not only coaching tight ends but also coaching offensive lines, running backs coach and being a run game coordinator. He did it all in New Orleans and has a good idea of where both Campbell and new offensive coordinator John Morton, who he also worked with in New Orleans, is looking for.
Broncos assistant offensive line coach Austin King
King was not only just in Denver with Morton, but he was also on staff with Morton in Las Vegas when he was the Raiders’ senior offensive assistant. King was the tight ends coach and a quality control coach at that time.