Steve Oliver enters his fourth season with the Lions in 2023 and his second as the team's assistant offensive line coach after originally joining the team as an offensive quality control coach in 2021. Prior to entering the NFL ranks, he spent the first five years of his coaching career at the collegiate level.
In 2023, Oliver helped orchestrate an offensive line that ranked fourth in the NFL in sack percentage allowed (4.8%) while guiding the ground attack to a franchise-record 27 rushing touchdowns and the fifth-most rushing yards (2,311) in a season in team history.
Under Oliver's guidance in 2023, T Penei Sewell became Detroit's second offensive lineman since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to be named First-Team AP All-Pro. He also became the first Lions tackle to earn consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl since T Lomas Brown (1990-95). Oliver also helped C Frank Ragnow earn Second-Team AP All-Pro honors and earn his third-career trip to the Pro Bowl.
A former offensive lineman for the University of San Diego, Oliver played for the Toreros from 2011-15, was coached by current Lions Offensive Line Coach Hank Fraley during the 2012 season and had Lions Passing Game Coordinator Tanner Engstrand serve as his offensive coordinator for his five-year career. After concluding his playing career, Oliver began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Idaho in 2016 as an offensive assistant, working primarily with the offensive line for two seasons.
During the 2018 spring football season, Oliver was named an assistant coach at Montana State-Northern, serving as the offensive line coach, run game coordinator and recruiting coordinator. He went on to become Idaho's director of operations in 2018 and oversaw the day-to-day operations of the program including team travel, logistics, meal planning and community involvement.
In 2019, Oliver was named Idaho's tight ends coach before returning to his alma mater in 2020 to oversee the tight ends.
He earned his bachelor's degree in finance in 2016. A native of Chandler, Ariz., Oliver is married to his wife, Abby, and together they have a son, Cooper.
