Hidden Figures: Washington icon Tuiasosopo chasing coaching dreams in second season with Lions
Note: This is the latest installment in a multi-part series that explores the background, responsibilities, and aspirations of the Detroit Lions’ lower-level assistant coaches. Today, we’re looking at offensive assistant Marques Tuiasosopo.
Allen Park — Marques Tuiasosopo loves where he’s at. It’s exceedingly unlikely, given the nature of the profession, but if Detroit was his last coaching stop, he’d have no complaints.
However, when talking about a one-game stint as the interim head coach at his alma mater, the University of Washington, more than a decade ago, Tuiasosopo’s eyes light up revealing dreams and ambitions more than words ever could.
One of more than a dozen former NFL players on the Lions coaching staff, at his peak, Tuiasosopo had as much national name recognition as any of them.
In 2000, he quarterbacked the University of Washington to an 11-1 record, a No. 3 finish in the AP poll, a Rose Bowl victory over a Drew Brees-led Purdue squad, earning MVP honors in the game to go with the PAC-10 Offensive Player of the Year award.
A few months later, Tuiasosopo was selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the Raiders. He would stick eight years in the league, although he never replicated his college success. He would appear in just 13 games (two starts) during the span.
But before those opportunities dried up, Tuiasosopo long sensed his next step would be coaching. It was a calling that was first instilled by his father, Manu, who played defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, and affirmed by mentors during Tuiasosopo’s playing days.