Lions interview Smith, Dimitroff and Pioli for general manager’s job – Detroit Lions Blog

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ALLEN PARK, Mich. — When Sheila Ford Hamp fired general manager Bob Quinn and coach Matt Patricia on Nov. 28, the first-year Detroit Lions owner made one promise among a bunch of questions she couldn’t yet answer.

“We are going to do an extremely thorough and comprehensive search for both positions,” Hamp said. “And yes, we have some ideas on what we’re looking for, but again, not clearly defined.”

Detroit has made some movement since Hamp’s initial statement — hiring Chris Spielman as a special assistant to Hamp and team president Rod Wood. Spielman will be involved in every interview for both positions.

The Lions also put together an advisory committee of Fritz Pollard Alliance Executive Director Rod Graves, former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis and Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders to assist as well — but more in the vetting process.

Still, the decision will come down to Hamp, and her thorough and comprehensive search — at least as much as it can be while still subject to NFL interviewing restrictions until the end of the season — has begun.

Here’s a snapshot look at the candidates who have interviewed along with some pros and cons for their potential in Detroit.


THOMAS DIMITROFF, FORMER ATLANTA FALCONS GM

When interviewed: Week of Dec. 25

Hometown: Burlington, Ontario, Canada

College: University of Guelph ‘90 – Economics and history

Experience: Saskatechewan Roughriders (1990-91 – Canadian Scouting Coordinator); World League of American Football (1992 – scout of NFL, CFL and World League rosters); Kansas City Chiefs (1993 – part-time scout); Detroit Lions (1994-97 – area scout); Cleveland Browns (1998-2001 – college scout); New England Patriots (2002 – national scout; 2003-07, director of college scouting); Atlanta Falcons (2008-20 – general manager).

Pros: Dimitroff has a ton of talent, of that there’s no question. He was twice named the NFL’s Executive of the Year and his teams made the playoffs in six of his 12-plus years as general manager. The Falcons also made it to the Super Bowl under his watch and Atlanta has six seasons of 10 wins or more. In Mike Smith and Dan Quinn, he made two successful hires as head coaches, even if both of their tenures ended up in firings. His first draft pick, Matt Ryan, became a franchise quarterback and his drafts in 2016 (Keanu Neal, Deion Jones, Austin Hooper, De’Vondre Campbell, Wes Schweitzer) and 2018 (Calvin Ridley, Ito Smith, Russell Gage, Foyesade Oluokun) were good. His Day 3 drafting also has yielded good players (Grady Jarrett, Jacquizz Rodgers, Matt Bosher, Levine Toilolo, Devonta Freeman, Ricardo Allen, Kroy Biermann, Gage and Campbell). Dimitroff also might have an understanding of the culture Chris Spielman is trying to build since he was with the Lions organization during their most successful run — albeit as an area scout. From a scouting perspective, since Dimitroff has the Patriots’ background, he’s likely to bring a similar system of grading and evaluation, which could be an immediate benefit.

Cons: It’s tough to blame Dimitroff for the Falcons’ continued collapses because he wasn’t coaching, but everyone in the organization has some responsibility for that level of failure. Dimitroff’s salary-cap management is also in question. The Falcons, for instance, are almost $25 million over the cap for next season, according to OverTheCap.com. While Dimitroff’s record as a drafter is largely clean from a character concern perspective, if I’m the Lions, I’m asking him about the decision to draft Prince Shembo in 2014. And while Dimitroff has shown the ability to be successful outside New England with his own plan and program, his Patriots ties might bring back bad memories of the last regime.


RICK SMITH, FORMER HOUSTON TEXANS GENERAL MANAGER:

When interviewed: Week of Dec. 25.

Hometown: Petersburg, Virginia

College: Purdue ’92 — Sociology

Experience: Purdue (1992 – graduate assistant/assistant strength & conditioning coach; 1993 – tight ends coach; 1994-95 – secondary coach); TCU (March 1996 – assistant coach); Denver Broncos (1996-99 – assistant defensive backs coach; 2000-05 – director of pro personnel); Houston Texans (2006-17 – general manager; 2012-17 – executive vice president of football Operations).

Pros: Smith has experience without question — having run an NFL front office for more than a decade and six of his 12 seasons were completed with an over-.500 record, including four playoff appearances. As a GM, his record was 92-100 — not bad considering he took over a team that had never had an over-.500 season in their history to that point. Smith hired two coaches, Gary Kubiak and Bill O’Brien, both of whom won divisional titles. His first-round draft ability has been impressive, including J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, Duane Brown and Deshaun Watson. A lot of his draft work was good, even if it didn’t always come with the Texans. Twenty-two of his draft picks from 2006-2013 played in more than 100 NFL games and many others, including Watson, D.J. Reader, Jadeveon Clowney and Zach Cunningham could join them. He also had at least one fantastic undrafted free agent find, running back Arian Foster, who ended up rushing for 6,472 yards and 54 touchdowns with Houston. He also showed how to rebuild a position group quick, turning the Texans’ secondary from a bottom-barrel unit in 2010 to one of the better ones in the NFL in 2011 by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning.

Cons: It all starts with Brock Osweiler. Smith bet on the quarterback to be the future of the franchise, giving him a four-year, $72 million deal in 2016. While Houston made the playoffs, Osweiler threw more interceptions than touchdowns and was traded less than a year later to Cleveland, although Smith should get some credit for quickly revising the mistake and being able to salary dump some of Osweiler’s bad contract on the Browns. He also sent Cleveland a second-round pick that became Nick Chubb. There are also questions about how he got along with O’Brien — a report in the Houston Chronicle suggested issues between the two — so the Lions should be asking heavily about that, especially since they are pushing for unity all across the organization.


SCOTT PIOLI, FORMER KANSAS CITY CHIEFS GM/ASSISTANT ATLANTA FALCONS GM/TV ANALYST

When interviewed: Week of Dec. 25.

Hometown: Washingtonville, New York

College: Central Connecticut State – Bachelor’s degree in communications; Syracuse – Master’s Degree in television radio and film.

Experience: Syracuse (1988-89 – graduate assistant); Murray State (1990 – offensive line coach; 1991 – defensive line coach); Cleveland Browns (1992-95 – pro personnel assistant); Baltimore Ravens (1996 – pro personnel coordinator); New York Jets (1997-2000 – director of pro personnel); New England Patriots (2000 – assistant director of player personnel; 2001 – director of player personnel; 2002-08 – vice president of player personnel); Kansas City Chiefs (2009-12 – general manager); Atlanta Falcons (2014-19 – assistant general manager).

Pros: Pioli has, without a doubt, experience around winners. The NFL’s Executive of the Decade from 2000-10, he helped construct the New England Patriots’ dynasty alongside Bill Belichick. His responsibilities in New England then included helping with evaluations, scouting and the draft. Pioli was well-respected for his time with the Patriots and even after he lost his job in Kansas City, he was along for most of the ride in Atlanta, helping another general manager candidate, Thomas Dimitroff, put together the Falcons. Plus, having worked in the past with both Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia, he could quickly dissect what went wrong and figure how to fix it. He’s also had time away from the direct New England tree, which could help. Pioli was good drafting in the first round for the Chiefs, taking Tyson Jackson (2009), Eric Berry (2010) and Dontari Poe (2012). The rest of his drafting as a general manager was a bit suspect, however, so there should be questions about his draft strategy. He was also the GM in Kansas City when Jovan Belcher killed himself, a moment that helped shape him and his future.

Cons: Start with the drafting. Six players from his four drafts played at least 100 NFL games — Jackson, Poe, center Rodney Hudson (second round — 2011), linebacker Justin Houston (third round – 2011), defensive end Allen Bailey (third round – 2011), defensive back Kendrick Lewis (fifth round – 2010) and punter Ryan Succop (seventh round – 2009). His tenure with the Chiefs did not go well – a 23-41 record that had only one winning season and two seasons of 12 losses or more. His head coaching choices were uninspired — first Todd Haley and then Romeo Crennel, first as an interim and then in the full-time gig where he went 2-14. If I’m the Lions, the biggest question I have, though, is about the culture within the Chiefs’ organization while Pioli was in charge. The Kansas City Star wrote about an anxiety-fueled situation with a high level of paranoia. Considering the climate the Lions are just coming out of and Spielman’s focus on unity and everyone being comfortable and hearing the same message, the Lions likely should have had many questions about Pioli’s Chiefs tenure.


LOUIS RIDDICK, ANALYST, ESPN

When interviewed: Dec. 18

Hometown: Quakertown, Pennsylvania

College: Pittsburgh — bachelor’s in economics

Experience: Playing: Ninth-round pick of San Francisco in 1991 as a safety; Atlanta Falcons (1992, 1996); Cleveland Browns (1993-95); Raiders (1998). Front office: Washington Football Team (2001-04 – pro scout; 2005-07 – director of pro personnel); Philadelphia Eagles (2008 – scout; 2009 – assistant director of pro personnel; 2010-13 – director of pro personnel). Other: Analyst, ESPN (2013-present)

Pros: Riddick knows the league incredibly well from his time playing, working and analyzing it. Unlike other candidates who might be in a silo of one team or one organization, Riddick has been able to learn and pick up ideas from every team in the league — similar to what Spielman described as his experience after he was hired by the Lions in his role. As a former player, he also has a different insight than someone who came up through scouting. His strength would likely lean toward pro personnel evaluation early as that’s where his scouting history lies, but he has been a prominent member of ESPN’s draft coverage since 2014, so he has delved into that area from a different perspective as well.

Cons: Experience. He hasn’t worked inside an NFL building in almost eight years and hasn’t had to do some of the day-to-day work required of a general manager for a while. The broadcaster-to-GM path has been successful lately in Mike Mayock (Las Vegas) and John Lynch (San Francisco), but in Detroit it could bring back memories — fair or not — of the last time the Lions tried this with Matt Millen. That culminated in the NFL’s first 0-16 season. Unlike Millen, Riddick has worked in a front office, but in this particular job that’s a stigma he’ll have to shake, although that should be easy for him to do. If he comes in with a plan that’s similar to what Lynch has set up in San Francisco, with experienced personnel men around him, that would be a benefit.


KYLE O’BRIEN, DETROIT LIONS VICE PRESIDENT OF PLAYER PERSONNEL

When interviewed: Week of Dec. 7

Hometown: Garden City, N.Y.

College: Harvard ’02 (played lacrosse)

Experience: New York Jets (1999 – intern, player personnel department); New England Patriots (2000-01 – player personnel intern; 2002-03 – area scout; 2004-05 – pro personnel scout; 2006-09 – area scout; 2010-11 – national scout); Kansas City Chiefs (2012 – national scout); Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-15 – director of college scouting); Detroit Lions (2016 – director of player personnel; 2017-present – vice president of player personnel)

Pros: O’Brien is incredibly smart and a good and thorough evaluator. While he came in with his good friend, former Lions GM Bob Quinn, they had different pathways. Unlike Quinn, he has worked under multiple general managers (Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, very briefly John Dorsey, Dave Caldwell and Quinn). His background in scouting should help with evaluation, and if hired, there wouldn’t be a large changeover in scouting language, which could be potentially even more important this offseason. His name has been linked to potential general manager gigs in prior seasons.

Cons: He was Quinn’s No. 2 in command, which if you’re trying to reboot the organization won’t bode well and will look like passing the buck. Many of the Lions’ decisions under Quinn and Patricia have not panned out, both in the draft and free agency, and some of that will fall to O’Brien, too. The better route for him might be to potentially stick around in his No. 2 role if the Lions hired someone like Pioli, Dorsey, Thomas Dimitroff or another general manager who believes O’Brien provides value, which there is no doubt he does.


ROB LOHMAN, DIRECTOR OF PRO SCOUTING

When interviewed: Week of Dec. 7

Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.

Education: South Carolina ’98 – bachelor’s in sports management; Syracuse ‘01 – master’s in higher education

Experience: Hofstra (1998 – special teams/recruiting assistant); Syracuse (1999-2001 – graduate assistant); Houston Texans (2001 – scouting intern; 2002-03 – pro administrator; 2003 – advance scout; 2004-06 – northeast regional scout); Detroit Lions (2007 – advance scout; 2008-14 – regional scout/college scouting coordinator; 2016-19 – assistant director of pro scouting; 2019-present – director of pro scouting)

Pros: Lohman has been around for multiple regimes in Detroit — Matt Millen, Martin Mayhew and Bob Quinn — so he has seen various ways of doing things. He also worked under Charley Casserly in Houston, so he knows what’s worked well and what hasn’t. When someone can stay with one place through varying changes, that’s usually a good sign. He handles pro player evaluation and oversaw advance scouts, pro player evaluation and free agency. For instance, he would have been part of the group that made the decision to pick up Romeo Okwara off waivers, which was a win. Experience on the college and pro sides of scouting and personnel is also valuable.

Cons: He has a lot of ties to the past, which might not be appealing when the team’s trying to create a new vision, although he predates Patricia and Quinn. His long tenure with the organization might be the biggest mark against him for this particular job. Detroit hasn’t done a great job in free agency the past two seasons — Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Desmond Trufant have largely been injured and Nick Williams has been unproductive. It’s not entirely clear how many of Detroit’s free-agency decisions the past two seasons — especially the Patriots players — had much to do with his recommendations and those of Quinn and Patricia. As with O’Brien, the better possibility for Lohman, who is very talented, is for an outside hire to stick with him in his current role.


LANCE NEWMARK, DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL

When interviewed: Week of Dec. 7

Hometown: La Mesa, California

Education: University of San Diego – social sciences

Experience: San Diego Chargers (1996-97 – staff assistant); Detroit Lions (1998 – player personnel department; 1999 – scout; 2000-2015 – area scout (six years); national scout (three years); assistant director of college scouting (seven years); 2016-17 – director of college scouting; 2017-present – director of player personnel)

Pros: Newmark is very well-versed in the world of college scouting and has seen it all over the years as he has worked his way up through the Lions organization and is one of the few remaining employees from the pre-Matt Millen era. He knows every piece of Detroit’s system, including where things went well and not-so-well. He’s someone trusted in college scouting evaluations and worked managing Detroit’s roster. He was one of Quinn’s in-the-room people — he, Lohman, O’Brien and Mike Disner were Quinn’s core group of evaluators — so he wouldn’t have to change much.

Cons: Like Lohman and O’Brien, he was around for the past three seasons and Newmark has seen a lot of failure in Detroit. Could that experience help change the team’s fortunes? Sure. But the reality is simple: The Lions are not casting this massive net to hire someone who’s already in the building.



Source : ESPN