While the Cardinals are still looking for their next head coach, one of their longtime offensive assistants is moving on.
According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, Arizona tight ends coach Steve Heiden is joining Detroit in the same role.
Heiden had been a part of the Cardinals coaching staff dating back to 2013, when he started out as an assistant special teams and assistant tight ends coach under former head coach Bruce Arians. He was then the assistant offensive line coach under Steve Wilks in 2018 before he was retained as tight ends coach under Kliff Kingsbury in 2019.
A third-round pick in the 1999 draft, Heiden played 11 seasons as a tight end for the Chargers and Browns. He caught 201 passes for 1,689 yards with 14 touchdowns.
The Lions did have Tanner Engstrand as their tight ends coach and passing game coordinator in 2022. Ben Johnson held tight ends coach to start Dan Campbell’s tenure as head coach in 2021 but was promoted to offensive coordinator. There’s been no official word on how the club may move around its staff for 2023, though Johnson is due to return after he was interviewed for some head coaching vacancies this month.