The Lions looked to take a new direction in the front office and they did just that with the hiring of Bob Quinn as the new general manager on Friday night.
Team president Rod Wood confirmed that the Lions had agreed in principle to a deal to hire Quinn. He has spent the last 16 seasons with the New England Patriots where he was director of pro scouting since 2012. He owns four Super Bowl rings.
Quinn will oversee the Lions’ football operations and report directly to owner and chairman of the board Martha Firestone Ford and to Wood.
“We are thrilled to have agreed to a deal with Bob to make him our new general manager,” Wood said in a statement released by the team. “As Mrs. Ford indicated at the outset, our search would be national in scope, and we would do everything possible to identify the very best person to lead our football operation. We believe Bob is that person.”
The Lions formed a search committee, led by longtime NFL executive Ernie Accorsi, following the firing of Martin Mayhew on Nov. 5. Background work started weeks ago, but teams weren’t allowed to interview candidates until Monday.
“I also want to thank Ernie Accorsi for his assistance in this process,” Wood continued. “Ernie proved to be a tremendous resource and his experience and expertise were invaluable.”
Wood also thanked Sheldon White who has served as interim GM since Martin Mayhew was fired on Nov. 5.
“Sheldon has done an exemplary job under less-than-ideal circumstances,” Wood said. “We appreciate his professionalism and contributions as our interim GM.”
One of Quinn’s first duties will be to determine whether coach Jim Caldwell remains. Caldwell, who has a 18-14 record in his first two seasons, has two years remaining on his contract.
“Bob Quinn’s going to make an excellent GM for the Lions. I’m a big fan of this very smart man,” Gil Brandt NFL.com senior analyst Tweeted Friday evening.
Quinn, who was born in 1976, has worked with the Patriots since 2000. He started the same year that Tom Brady was drafted.
Quinn had the support of coach Bill Belichick which would have certainly helped his case with the Lions.
“Bob has done a good job, been with us for a long time and has had a number of different responsibilities in the scouting department – pro, college, advance, different projects and all that. He’s done a real solid job,” Belichick said in a Tuesday press conference.
Quinn is one of the few members of the Patriots personnel department who is inside the draft room which shows the trust he has from Belichick, according to ESPN.com’s Patriots writer Mike Reiss.
Quinn started as a player personnel assistant with the Patriots in 2000. He served as a pro scout (2002-2003), regional scout (2004-2007), national college scout (2008) and assistant director of pro scouting (2009-2011).
Before joining the Patriots he was a graduate assistant with the University of Connecticut’s athletic department (1998-99).
Quinn, a native of Norwood, Mass., earned his master’s degree in sports management from UConn in 2000. He completed his undergraduate studies at UConn in 1998.
He and his wife Julie have a son, Kyle, and a daughter, Grace.
Other candidates were believed to have been White; Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner and Kevin Abrams, the Giants assistant general manager.
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