The Detroit Lions are not utilizing a search firm to hire their new general manager. That does not mean owner Sheila Ford Hamp, president Rod Wood and the Lions are making the choice on their own, however.
The Lions have already sought advice and assistance in the hiring process from outside places, including the NFL itself. As Dave Birkett noted in the Detroit Free Press, the Lions have already turned to the NFL for some guidance in the process,
The Lions have leaned heavily on the NFL in general, and executive vice president Troy Vincent in particular, for advice in the early stages of their search.
It’s not out of the ordinary for teams to turn to the NFL for help in assembling names and candidates. In the last Lions search that resulted in the Bob Quinn hiring, the NFL recommended longtime league GM Ernie Accorsi as an advisor to the Lions. Detroit employed Accorsi, who didn’t exactly do a thorough search in coming up with Quinn — who was a known top candidate at the time.
As a comparison, the Houston Texans have assembled quite a roster of aid in their search committee to replace Bill O’Brien. From Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston,
McNair’s committee includes Hall of Fame coaches Tony Dungy and Jimmy Johnson, former Texans great Andre Johnson, San Antonio Spurs CEO RC Buford and Rod Graves, a former NFL executive who is the executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
The Texans did bring in an executive from the search firm Korn Ferry to help make the final choice, along with team owner Cal McNair and president Jamey Roots. Like the Lions pair of Hamp and Wood, neither McNair nor Roots has real football experience.