The Detroit Lions have signed general manager Bob Quinn to a five-year extension, the team announced Friday morning.
Lions announced they have agreed to terms with General Manager Bob Quinn on an extension to his current contract. The extension matches the term of HC Matt Patricia’s new deal with the team – both tied to Detroit for five years.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 9, 2018
The move comes only two days after Quinn’s hiring of former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as the team’s head coach going into the 2018 season. Quinn and Patricia both have ties to the Patriots, as Quinn was New England’s director of pro scouting prior to being hired as the Lions’ general manager.
Detroit Lions Sign General Manager Bob Quinn to Five-Year Extension
Quinn was hired in 2016 after an underwhelming season in which the team began the season with a 1-7 record. Following weeks seven and eight, there were slews of firings, underscored by the relief of former general manager Martin Mayhew. Then-vice president of pro personnel Sheldon White finished the season as the team’s interim general manager but failed to retain the job that off-season when Quinn was hired.
Quinn and Patricia in the Same Boat
Quinn’s extension happens to match the length of Patricia’s contract, as the team noted in their press release. The move ties Quinn and Patricia together in whatever outcomes the team faces in the coming seasons.
The matching contract lengths are no coincidence, however. It’s common practice for a general manager in the NFL to be allotted the hiring of one of ‘their own’ coaches prior to being on the hot seat, especially if coaches are retained from a previous regime. Quinn found himself in such a position upon his appointment in 2015, inheriting Jim Caldwell as his head coach and electing to keep him around. Now that the team has moved on from Caldwell, Quinn has brought in Patricia as ‘his guy.’
The move makes it clear that the two will now be held equally accountable for the direction in which they take the team. It seems Quinn, like the Lions fanbase every few years, has no choice but to hope the hire pans out.
