Seth Ryan joined the Lions as the team's assistant wide receivers coach in 2021 after spending the previous four seasons (2017-20) with the Los Angeles Chargers, serving as a coaching intern from 2017-18 and an offensive quality control coach from 2019-20.
Under Ryan's guidance in 2023, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown put together a memorable season as he became just the third Lions wide receiver since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to be named First-Team AP All-Pro. Among all NFL players in 2023, St. Brown ranked first in 100-yard receiving games (nine), tied-for-second in receptions (119), third in receiving yards (1,515) and tied-for-fourth in receiving touchdowns (10). St. Brown also ranked first in the NFL in receiving yards after the catch (677) and was third in receiving first downs (75).
With Ryan's assistance, the Lions' receiving corps ranked fifth among all NFL wide receiver units in receiving yards (3,060), fifth in receiving yards after the catch (1,196), fifth in receiving yards after contact (463) and sixth in receiving first downs (146) in 2023.
In 2022, Ryan helped the Lions' wide receivers finish top 10 in the NFL in receptions (383), receiving yards (4,444), receiving first downs (228), receiving touchdowns (29), receptions of over 25 yards (35) and receiving yards after catch (2,217). He also helped St. Brown earn a Pro Bowl berth as he tied the NFL record for the most receptions (196) within a player's two-career years.
In his first season with Detroit in 2021, Ryan assisted in multiple aspects of the team's special teams, working closely with gunners and the wide receiver corps. He also helped develop St. Brown to have a historic rookie season, where he set Lions rookie records with 90 receptions for 912 yards (10.1 avg.). In only his first NFL season, St. Brown had six-straight games with at least eight receptions, the longest streak in team history and the longest by a rookie in NFL history.
During his stint in L.A., Ryan worked primarily with the team's wide receivers and helped guide WRs Mike Williams and Keenan Allen (three) to 1,000-yard seasons in that span. Allen made the Pro Bowl in all four years working with Ryan and produced a franchise-record 104 receptions in 2019. Allen totaled 403 receptions in that span, the third-most in the NFL, and his 4,780 yards ranked as the sixth-most. He was also one-of-three players to produce three 100-catch seasons in that range.
Ryan was a wide receiver at Clemson from 2013-16 and helped the Tigers win the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. The Tigers also won two ACC titles, the Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl over his time there.
The son of former NFL Head Coach Rex Ryan, he is married to his wife, Meg.