Indianapolis — If you’re from Detroit, you’re conditioned to be defensive about outside perceptions of the city. Those perceptions have admittedly shifted in a positive direction in recent years, but the lazy jokes and stereotypes never fully fade.
But, for new Detroit Lions running backs coach and assistant head coach Scottie Montgomery, this is where he has long dreamed of landing. It’s a different perspective than one many of us know, but the North Carolina native has long idealized the city of Detroit as a symbol of Black success and a place he hoped to one day be.
“I will say this, growing up in the South, a lot of people say they want to go to New York, right?” Montgomery said. “‘I want to go to New York. I want to go to L.A.’ But growing up in the South, especially when you grew up in the working South as an African American, you made it (when) you made it to Detroit. Because all the images we had from Detroit were from families — and not making this about minority or not a minority — but African American families that were together, that were led by a mother and a father, and everybody was dressed so nice.
“… And then, the blue-collar aspect of it just makes it all better,” Montgomery said. “So, we’re blessed. My wife’s family is from Detroit. So, we’re blessed to come to a place we spent a lot of time anyway, but also the history of when I was a kid, thinking, ‘Man, if I could just finally get to Detroit, it’s going to all change. We won’t have dirt roads, there will be streets, some nice cars, and maybe one day, we’ll work for Ford, and we’ll go from there.'”
Maybe it’s not the original vision, but Montgomery is, in fact, working for the Ford family, who became the sole owner of the Lions in 1963. And it’s a pairing that almost happened a year earlier, had the Lions not pegged talented, young upstart Ben Johnson to lead the team’s offense last offseason.
Montgomery interviewed for that vacancy and impressed, immediately bonding with coach Dan Campbell because of their shared football philosophy during a four-hour interview. So, when Duce Staley departed this offseason for a position with the Carolina Panthers in order to be closer to his mother, Campbell was quick to call on Montgomery to fill the opening after he spent the past two seasons in Indianapolis with the Colts.
“To be able to acquire him as our running backs coach and assistant head coach from the Colts, man, it was big,” Campbell said. “I think he’s going to be an outstanding teacher, I think he’s got a lot of versatility. He’s coached 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 this is a talented coach that’s got a lot of wisdom. He’s a motivator. We’re happy to have him.”
A college wide receiver at Duke, Montgomery has had great mentors since entering the coaching ranks with his alma mater in 2006. He credits longtime Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who served as Peyton Manning’s offensive coordinator in Tennessee, for teaching the ins and outs of the quarterback position. And Montgomery said he refined how to articulate his messaging to players serving as a receivers coach for Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, while Super Bowl-winning coach Bruce Arians instilled the concept of tough love, the art of coaching a player hard before immediately turning around to lift his spirits.
But Montgomery’s most important coaching concept, the one that defines him, is one he learned from his late mother, Vera. When a young Montgomery complained about his lack of carries while playing youth football, she hammered home the importance of being selfless for the good of the team, the same way she was sacrificing for the family by waking up at 4:30 a.m. to work the two jobs needed to support them.
Like many coaches, Montgomery has baseline expectations for his players. He said his room will be defined by three words: Smart, tough and reliable. And the top two priorities will be protecting the quarterback and protecting the football. Still, everything he teaches will be wrapped in the blanket of selfless sacrifice.
“We’re going to work our ass off on doing those things and then we’re going to be there to support our players in the room,” Montgomery said. “It’s the brotherhood, right? We talk about it. It’s not going to always be in my hands; the football is not gonna always be in my hands. It may be in someone else’s hands, but we gotta cheer and we gotta be there for our brother, just like if we were the ones carrying the football.”
Continuing the trend
Like his predecessor, Staley, Montgomery will have little patience for players who aren’t willing to do the dirty work. If a running back isn’t capable of protecting the quarterback, they’re going to have a difficult time seeing the field.
“First things first, this league is a quarterback league, right?” Montgomery said. “…We have to sacrifice and our sacrifice is, sometimes we’re gonna be in situations that we’re outmatched in protection, but we gotta do it for 2.6-2.8 seconds.”
In Indianapolis, Montgomery had the opportunity to coach one of the league’s best running backs, Jonathan Taylor. The team led the league in rushing yards per carry in 2021, led by Taylor’s impressive 1,811-yard campaign. But, the standard he set beyond the stat sheet is what endeared the player to his coach.
“I’ll tell you what, the respect level that I have for him, I was able to coach him at the running back position like a quarterback,” Montgomery said. “That’s not a knock to any running backs. Their skill sets are just different, where this guy is a guy who could fix our protections if needed, but he also could physically handle the demands of who I am on a daily basis.
“That is different now,” Montgomery continued. “That is something that is unusual, that a guy can handle the mental part of it, the physical aspect of it and still have the humility and humbleness that goes with being really respected by your teammates. I was blessed to have him in the room. It was a challenge because I had to try to find more ways to try to continue to get him better and to grow him, and then he had to meet that challenge. …And just I’m amazed at the fact that exists in a time, truly, where self-gratification probably is a little bit higher than the hard work piece that he did. He got a lot of accolades, but you couldn’t tell. You couldn’t tell.”
In Detroit, Montgomery inherits D’Andre Swift. The coach recognizes the talent, but was slow to speak on expectations prior to getting to know the player on a personal level. There’s also a hope the team will bring back Jamaal Williams, who is an unrestricted free agent.
“I’m gonna coach the hell out of whoever is in the room,” Montgomery said. “I love (Williams). The tape is really good. Our tape is our walking, talking, breathing resume and his resume right now is excellent. But, this is a business, right? So that’s what (general manager) Brad (Holmes) and Dan will make the decision on.
Montgomery is also thrilled about the depth of running back talent in this draft class. He’s thrown himself into diligently evaluating the prospects to provide a thoughtful assessment to Detroit’s decision-makers.
“We’ve gotta do a good job that the information that I deliver to Brad and to Dan is right because there’s a thin line, a thin line between being great and being good,” Montgomery said. “And (good’s) not what we’re looking for. We’re trying to be great.”
One thing is clear, Montgomery is ready to pursue that greatness in Detroit, just like he imagined it as a kid.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers