While much of the long-term talk about Lions staffers potentially getting bigger and more prominent roles on other teams focuses on the assistant coaches, there is another candidate in the Detroit front office who could attract attention, too.
Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew has a compelling résumé to garner real interest as a potential GM hire in the coming offseason cycle. The veteran has done well as GM Brad Holmes’ right-hand man and primary evaluator of pro talent. Agnew earned a spot in Pro Football Focus’ list of top potential GM candidates in the next hiring cycle.
The 55-year-old Agnew is not the typical candidate, as PFF notes,
Agnew may not be the young upshot executive that teams seem to prefer recently for general manager hires, but his lengthy football career and clear trust from Lions general manager Brad Holmes should go a long way. The Rams built a Super Bowl winner largely with external additions during the time Agnew was the director of pro personnel, and we’ve also seen him now help Holmes build the Lions in a very different manner.
His considerable experience working in personnel evaluation for multiple GMs and organizations are Agnew’s biggest strengths.