Every Morning, Outside the Lions brings you the latest news to start off the day, with quick hits on the news and views surrounding your Detroit Lions.
It’s Thursday and yet there is still another 11-day waiting period for another professional football game that has meaning. Yet, the league still finds itself in a flex period with a ton of changes becoming official, staff changes becoming complete, and the start of preparing for off-season scouting in the forefront, with the NFL Draft taking place in April.
For the Lions, it’s been more than just Calvin Johnson talk and sitting to wait what will happen next as he makes his decision to either retire from the game or play for the Lions in 2016.
Bob Quinn is still mixing things up on the scouting side of things and might not be quite finished. It looks like recent hires have been assigned their roles.
Let’s take a closer look with today’s quick hits.
DETROIT, MI – OCTOBER 18: head coach Jim Caldwell of the Detroit Lions looks on during a time out in over time while playing the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on October 18, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. the Detroit Lions win 37-34 in overtime to beat the Chicago Bears. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GM Bob Quinn Talks Caldwell Decision
The new mastermind behind the Detroit Lions caught up with reporters on Wednesday at the Senior Bowl, to discuss what went behind his decision to keep Jim Caldwell as head coach.
Quinn told Lions beat writer Tim Twentyman that his choice to keep the player-friendly head coach came down to 10-12 hours of time spent together talking about the future, football philosophies, and the importance of developing players.
“Just being able to get on the same page about how to acquire players, how to develop players,” Quinn told beat writers Wednesday afternoon before one of the Senior Bowl practices. “I said in my press conference that I’m not a coach and I’m not going to be coaching them.
“It’s really to get a system in place to where he can be flexible to the players I bring in to develop them and mesh them into his offensive, defensive and special teams systems.”
He also told the media that he didn’t talk to players before making the decision, despite most favoring the move.
The big takeaway is that Quinn talked about how everyone on the coaching staff must be able to develop the players that they bring in through the draft and free agency.
I know that over 900 NFL scouts and coaches are at The Senior Bowl this week, but having Bob Quinn there means something.
It’s exciting to see this organization get a jump start on college scouting.
Know Your Role
Things are starting to take shape in the front office. Quinn also gave the media an insight on how the scouting department will fill out.
Of course, recent hire Kyle O’Brien will oversee the personnel department. He will also be in charge of both the pro and college sides of scouting. Lance Newmark will oversee the draft.
Sheldon White seems to be safe as the teams pro director, but it is also possible that his position hasn’t been evaluated yet.
Pro scouts stayed back in Detroit this week to start their evaluation of potential free agent targets.
Say Goodbye to two Executives on the Business Side of Things
The Lions organization continues to prove that it is trying to clean up it’s image and in-house tactics when it comes to the business side of things.
The team announced on Wednesday that Elizabeth Parkinson, the senior vice president of marketing and partnerships, has been let go by GM Bob Quinn.
He also let go of Jennifer Cadicamo, who served as the vice president of marketing.
If Parkinson’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she was the head executive behind the decision to move Detroit’s radio rights to WJR-AM.
The clearinghouse of the public relations has led many to believe that Quinn wants nothing to do with some of the old “control the media” tactics that reportedly took place with the old regime.
Parkinson’s department was separate of those who were in charge of clearing up inaccuracies within the media by contacting them about mistakes.
Yet, the way she handled the whole radio rights debacle in November, alongisde then president Tom Lewand, is proving to be the ticket that sent her packing.
It will be interesting to see if the move was one to save face, or if the Quinn and company really want to rebuild it’s status with the current media organizations in Detroit.
Browns Hire Andrew Berry instead of Brian Xanders
Hue Jackson’s Cleveland Browns will not have a Detroit influence leading the way in the front office.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Andrew Berry will serve as Cleveland’s VP of Player Personnel.
Xanders was considered a favorite after interviewing for the position. Berry is a bit of a surprise hire. He served the last seven seasons with the Colts and most recently served their pro scouting coordinator.
Xanders still made the trip to the Senior Bowl to do scouting for the Lions and it looks like he remains a part of their short-term plans.
Xanders is as versatile as they come in scouting and has held nearly every single position you could think of in the Lions scouting department.
The long-term plan for him is unclear though, as he continues to explore other jobs across the league.
Former GM Martin Mayhew also interviewed for the open position.
