Dave Birkett of the Free Press is reporting that the Detroit Lions are set to interview ex-Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith next week for their open position.
“Smith is expected to interview with the Lions before Christmas,” Birkett said, “likely next week, a person familiar with the Lions’ plans told the Free Press, and is eligible to be hired immediately as he is not currently employed by a team.”
Smith was one of the top candidates for general manager we at Lions Wire identified after Bob Quinn was fired, and is currently on a shortlist of preferred candidates from Lions Wire editors Jeff Risdon and Erik Schlitt.
The youngest GM in the NFL at the time, Smith took over the position for Houston in 2006 and held it through the 2017 season when he left to care for his wife who had breast cancer. In addition to the GM position, Smith also held an executive vice president of football operations role over his final five seasons.
Largely acknowledged as the person responsible for building the Texans into a winner, Smith is credited with drafting, J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, Deshaun Watson, Jadeveon Clowney, and Mario Williams, as well as grabbing A.J. Bouye and Arian Foster as undrafted free agents.
In our examination of GM and coaching candidates crossing career paths, we noted that Smith and popular coaching candidate Robert Saleh spent five seasons together in Houston over the 2006-10 season. Smith was the GM at the time, while Saleh was a defensive quality control coach in 2006-08, and then assistant linebackers coach for the 2009-10 seasons under then-coach Gary Kubiak.
Currently, the Lions have interviewed three internal candidates — Kyle O’Brien, Lance Newmark, and Rob Lohman — for the open GM position, while Smith is the first known interview from outside of Allen Park to be brought in.