| Detroit Free Press
Assessing Detroit Lions’ coach, GM searches as regular season ends
Free Press sports writers Dave Birkett and Carlos Monarrez debate Jan. 4, 2021, who the Detroit Lions should hire as general manager and head coach.
Carlos Monarrez and Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Lions are in the midst of interviewing a wide range of candidates for both their head coach and general manager jobs. They began GM interviews in early December, and both searches are expected to wrap up in the coming weeks. As part of an ongoing series, here is a look at one known candidate on the Lions’ list:
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Terry Fontenot
Current role: New Orleans Saints vice president/assistant GM of pro personnel.
Background: Fontenot has spent his entire NFL career with the Saints organization, and most of his life in Louisiana. He grew up in Lake Charles, played safety at Tulane and got his start in the NFL as a marketing intern with the Saints before moving to the football side of the business. A pro scout during the Saints’ Super Bowl run in 2009, Fontenot was promoted to director of pro scouting in 2013 and given his current title last offseason.
When interviewed: Jan. 5.
Why he makes sense: The Saints are one of the NFL’s most successful franchises of the past 12 years, and Fontenot has been a part of the organization’s rise. He’s bright, organized and his ascension from the ground up speaks to just how highly he’s viewed by Loomis and others in New Orleans. Officially a pro scout his entire career, Fontenot does have some experience scouting college prospects and negotiating contracts. If the Lions are willing to gamble on his upside, and if Fontenot surrounds himself with experienced personnel men, he could be the man for the job.
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Why he doesn’t: Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia worked for one organization before coming to Detroit, and it showed in their narrow-minded approach to team building. Fontenot, similarly, has never experienced life outside the NFL bubble of New Orleans. Jeff Ireland, Fontenot’s counterpart on the college side, has played at least as big a role in building the Saints’ roster; Ireland is expected to interview with the Lions later this week. And Fontenot lacks one important quality the Lions are valuing in their search — previous experience as a GM.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.