On Saturday afternoon, while I was attempting to watch the Michigan football debacle vs. Penn State, news broke that the Detroit Lions had fired both Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn, effective immediately.
Here are five candidates via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated who could replace Quinn.
Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay: He may be impossible to get out of Dallas at this point, with how the Joneses regard and take care of him. But if he were to decide to leave North Texas, with his varied experience in scouting, coaching and analytics, he’d be at the top of a lot of lists. Maybe, because it’s close by, he’d consider Houston.
Eagles assistant director of player personnel Ian Cunningham: Learned at the heel of ex-Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, and worked on the college and pro side in Baltimore—eventually winding up with the all-important Southeast as an area. He got to Philly as college scouting director, he’s been promoted since, and the Eagles had to block him from going to the Jets with Douglas.
Saints VP/assistant GM-pro personnel Terry Fontenot: Fontenot’s help to construct the best roster in football the last few years, and worked hand-in-hand with Jeff Ireland to run the team’s scouting department. You won’t find many guys that don’t really respect Fontenot.
Raiders assistant director of player personnel DuJuan Daniels: Daniels spent well over a decade in New England and has quickly found success with Raiders GM Mike Mayock. He might be a few years away, but he absolutely has a bright future and is well-thought-of in the two places he’s worked.
Cardinals director of player personnel Quentin Harris: He was seen as a rising star up until the team got old and collapsed a few years ago. Now that Arizona’s bounced back, it would hardly be a shocker to see his name start to circulate again.
Nation, which of these candidates do you prefer?