Lions GM: Detroit Is "An Attractive Place To Go"
By Ty Duffy
The Detroit Lions hired Bob Quinn as GM, after 16 years with the New England Patriots. What this means for the team is TBD, but Quinn already has his talking points down.
Asked about bringing free agents to the Lions, Quinn termed Detroit “an attractive place to go.” Not the city itself, which we could make a case for. But, the solid foundations the Lions have in place.
"“The players that we’ve had in for visits and we’ve signed, and even some of the guys that we haven’t signed, were really receptive. Had some really great conversations with players and representatives and agents about the opportunity that we present, as a franchise, with the ownership, the head coach, the hierarchy that we have, in terms of the structure of the organization. The position coaches. The coordinators. It’s an attractive place to go.”"
Lions fans, of course, will note the structure of the organization has been the major problem for decades. The Ford family bought the team in 1963. They have managed one playoff win. They squandered the primes of Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson. They did things such as let Matt Millen run the team for a better part of a decade.
The Ford’s recent team president hire, Rod Wood, is the guy who handled their investments and by his own admission “not a football guy.”
But, the Lions now are at least talking like a successful franchise, which is a start.