ALLEN PARK – Rod Wood confirmed last week that the Lions interviewed Marvin Lewis. He confirmed that the Lions interviewed Eric Bieniemy on Monday night and would interview Darrell Bevell with the interim head coach. He also confirmed that the Lions had interviewed seven candidates for general manager, and that the final hire would likely come from the pool of 12 candidates already known.
But he said shortly thereafter whether Seahawks general manager John Schneider was on Detroit’s list.
“I will not comment on someone we have not yet interviewed,” Wood said. ‘I would definitely not comment on someone who has a contract with another team. There are a lot of rumors out there. I do not know where they start, but I have no comment on it. ”
This rumor started at NFL Network, which reported over the weekend that the Lions are planning a potential lead for the longtime Seattle boss. Schneider has led the organization with Pete Carroll since 2010. But he also does not have final control over staff members – Carroll does – and that means he could be eligible for a job interview that would give him control.
NFL rules prohibit teams from blocking interviews for job promotions.
Schneider ignored a question about the report when asked over the weekend.
“My wife and I obviously love it,” he said. ‘Good team, good ownership, Coach Carroll, the city, the 12’s (Seahawk fans), everything. I know when you and I told this week – you may get tired of me talking about it, but just like going to the 53rd that weekend, it’s the worst weekend in the National Soccer League because you have so many friends and so many contacts around the league that people among all the families involved, people who are losing their jobs or pulling people, talking about it in the TV shows and today all about who is going to braai, who is going to rent and all that kind of stuff.
‘It’s a lot of rumors. We must remember that it is, of course, an entertainment industry, but there is also a personal side to it. So on the one hand, it’s a raid. On the other hand, the last few weeks have been very enjoyable with teams that have had openings to be able to talk about the men in our staff and people who look after our coaches and people who look after our staff. , and guys who are also going to be interviewing for work. So it’s exciting, but yeah, it’s about that. We’re fine. ”
Schneider is one of 12 people working for the Lions’ general manager. The club is expected to hold talks with Saints vice president / assistant general manager Terry Fontenot on Tuesday, having already met former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, former Texas general manager Rick Smith, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, spoke. and internal candidates Lance Newmark, Kyle O’Brien and Rob Lohman.
According to several reports, Detroit also planned interviews with Brad Holmes, the director of Rams College, with the Vikings ‘assistant general manager, George Paton, and the Saints’ assistant general manager, Jeff Ireland. Holmes and Paton are expected to interview on Wednesday, followed by Ireland on Friday.
As for the vacancy for head coaches, the Lions spoke to Bevell on Tuesday after they had an interview with Bieniemy and Lewis last week. The Lions also requested interviews with 49ers defense coordinator Robert Saleh, Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, coach, and Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, according to several reports. Saleh’s interview is Thursday, while Campbell and Smith go next week.
Wood said the Lions want to create a ‘partnership’ between their new general manager and head coach, rather than having the coach report to the general manager. Or rent can come first.
“We have developed very specific criteria for both positions to which we are unique – not entirely unique, but we think in some cases very unique to our situation,” Wood said. ‘I will not share with you all, but I would say that their focus on leadership, culture, teamwork, awareness of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and what we are really looking for is an open, inclusive culture where everyone pulls together as a team, and in one word, communication is paramount and everyone is doing the right thing for the Detroit Lions.
“The people we seek and the people we interview, I think, show these qualities. As we go through the interview process, we will hopefully find that people are 100% confident the right people for the organization. And like I said, I think one of the previous calls, it’s very different from how we approached the search for Bob (Quinn) and Matt (Patricia), where we were more focused on candidates because of their performance as opposed to the criteria established before we started interviewing them. ”