Lions RBs coach says family OK after Hurricane Helene hit hometown: 'Thinking about you'

Scottie Montgomery grew up in North Carolina, spent more than a decade coaching in the state and still has "about half" of his family there.

The Detroit Lions assistant head coach said Tuesday many of his family members have been affected by Hurricane Helene, though all were spared the worst of the storm.

"My heart is with them, what they’re going through," Montgomery said Tuesday. "A lot of people without power, a lot of people lost family members. Thank God, I haven’t lost anybody or had any really horrific deals, but myself and Ben Johnson definitely are connected to (it) so it means a lot to us to make sure they’re good so we’re thinking about you if you’re listening."

Montgomery grew up in Cleveland County, North Carolina, where at least two people died in Helene-related incidents, according to WBTV in Charlotte .

Johnson grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and played college football at the University of North Carolina. Lions coach Dan Campbell said last week Johnson's family was safe after the hurricane.

More than 200 people have died because of a storm that CNN estimates caused $47.5 billion in property damage.

"The biggest thing now is just being without power," Montgomery said. "Some people without power and some people without water, and the combination of both those, of course, can be kind of hard to deal with. Especially now you’re getting into a week and that time and just replacing some of the things that they have. But everybody is, thank God, in my family is doing well. There’s other things that come up inside, so we’re thinking about them, definitely."

Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone said he spent part of his bye week in Florida surveying the damage caused by Helene and preparing for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall in west-central Florida on Wednesday.

"I live right near the beach and literally the beaches are completely gone, homes are ruined," Anzalone said. "Even in my neighborhood, the houses that are on the water are just - like we were just driving around in our golf cart and our house is good, it's out of a flood zone because we're up, but the houses that are on the water, just especially these one-story homes is just like everyone's belongings that they've ever owned, furniture, clothes are just on the streets just for trash. It's just sad."

Anzalone, who makes his offseason home in Clearwater, Fla., said friends finished boarding up his house Tuesday and his wife spent the day checking on one of their 91-year-old neighbors who evacuated to Orlando.

"When I was in New Orleans, we went through a Category 3 (hurricane) during training camp," Anzalone said. "It was intense, but at the same time, it's really, the flooding is a big problem. The people that try to stay that need to, the people that stay with an mandatory evacuation, it's just like you're on your own pretty much. So I think if you decide to stay - and obviously the home damage is terrible and it's sad when people can't afford to rebuild it and they're waiting for an insurance claim and it takes forever. So that's really the somber part of it."

Montgomery said he was grateful for the timing of the Lions' bye week last week, which gave him a chance to connect with family devastated by the storm.

"It’s just a lot of people that I care and I love, and still the same thing for, I think, about the people in Tampa." he said. "I have friends with homes in Tampa and different things and now what they’re getting ready to go through, it’s very difficult. Just difficult."

Dave Birkett will sign copies of his new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline" at 7 p.m. Saturday at J. Gilligan's Bar & Grill in Arlington, Texas. Order your copy here.

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions RBs coach says family OK after Hurricane Helene hit hometown: 'Thinking about you'