Detroit Lions once again sought out a former NFL player to help fill its coaching staff, hiring Antwaan Randle El to train the team’s recipients.
Randle El has been an offensive assistant for Tampa Bay for the past two seasons, helping the team win the Super Bowl over Kansas City earlier this month.
The 41-year-old played nine years in the NFL with Pittsburgh and Washington, appearing in 143 games with 71 matches. He picked up 370 passes for 4,467 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also returned for part of his career, with 26 returns for 288 yards and a touchdown.
Randle El played as a defender in college in Indiana.
After his retirement from the NFL, he became the sports director at Virginia Academy, a school he helped start. Then, in 2019, he decided to enter as a coach.
Randle El becomes the latest ex-NFL player to join the Lions coaching staff along with coach Dan Campbell, offensive coach Anthony Lynn, defensive coach Aaron Glenn, defender coach Mark Brunell, assistant coach / running backs Duce Staley, offensive lineman Hank Fraley and defense assistant Kelvin Sheppard.
Campbell said he was unintentional in bringing his team together.
“I didn’t go into that and said I would only sign former players. It never crossed my mind,” said Campbell. “In my head, I said, who is the best guy I know, to the extent that I know him as an excellent teacher and trainer. That was the criterion. That is, these have always been the established standards and I swore I was never I’m going to hire the coach first and then the person. I hired the person first and then the coach.
“So I refused, here’s what I knew, I refused to hire my friends who are average coaches or the guy I owe, but he is an average coach, but an exceptional human being. Because that’s how you become average. And so it was a bonus that I knew AG. It was a bonus that I met A-Lynn because these are exceptional human beings who are excellent coaches and so, I just got into this thing literally saying, ‘Where do I find the best guys? Find the best guys? Who are the best? ‘”