Getty Rod Wood and Chris Spielman on the field before the Lions game.
The Detroit Lions general manager job is coming into focus as the team goes through their interview and vetting process, and now, some folks are beginning to take a closer look at how the team ranks against the other teams they will compete against.
In the mind of Pro Football Focus writer Michael Renner, the team’s job doesn’t stack up that well in terms of the competition. Recently, Renner took time to power rank all of the general manager job, and Detroit was bringing up the rear in last position.
Renner wrote:
“Any general manager taking over this roster has very few building blocks to work with. The team’s past three draft classes have produced a grand total of one quality starter so far (Frank Ragnow), and he plays one of the least valuable positions in the NFL. The Lions don’t have a ton of cap space, either, so it’s easy to see why the general manager job will be a grind for whomever takes over.
The tough decisions don’t stop there, though, as they’ll also have to navigate exactly what to do with quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Lions’ starting quarterback for the past decade-plus hasn’t publicly said he wants out but is quite obviously exasperated with the state of the franchise. A full reset may be in order, and trading the 32-year-old Stafford to the highest bidder may have to be any new general manager’s first order of business.”
That’s certainly a gloomy picture to paint of the job, but every story has two sides. The Lions might have some negatives for the job, but there is positives as well to note that could be enticing to certain candidates who are looking at the job seriously.
How Enticing is Lions General Manager Job?
Many might see Detroit’s job as poor considering the facts and considering the other jobs, but the Lions do offer some advantages for their candidates. First off, Detroit isn’t in cap trouble like Atlanta might be. The Lions also have a top 10 pick to deal with, and also have Matthew Stafford as well. Many might consider this a drawback, but Stafford could either be a solid quarterback to build around or a solid bargaining chip for the next crew to use in a trade. Whomever takes the job will also have a chance to become a savior of a moribund franchise, and that could certainly appeal to the ego within of any major executive. Detroit also has some building blocks on offense in the form of Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow, D’Andre Swift and others. The defense could be a clean slate where a candidate could re-shape things how he saw fit.
While there are certainly negatives to the job, the positives can’t be ignored, either.
Lions General Manager Search Update
Detroit has seen a new search target come into focus this week, as the team revealed they had interviewed Terry Fontenot from the New Orleans Saints. Los Angeles scouting director Brad Holmes could be in the mix. They could speak with Minnesota’s George Paton this week and Jeff Ireland of the Saints this week as well. So far, it’s been revealed that the team has spoken with their in-house candidates, as well as ESPN’s Louis Riddick, former Texans GM and EVP Rick Smith and Scott Pioli as well. Former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff has been interviewed and is in the mix as well. The small potential exists for the team to lure a name like John Schneider or Kevin Colbert, two established names from Seattle and Pittsburgh that have been rumored to be in the mix.
It doesn’t seem likely the Lions will add any more candidates, so it is very likely that the team will hire their next leader from this group.
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