Lions interview three internal candidates for GM position

The Detroit Lions announced they've conducted interviews with three internal candidates for the team's vacant general manager position on Friday. The Lions are in the early stages of a search to replace Bob Quinn, who was fired at the end of last month, along with coach Matt Patricia. 

Prior to shifting attention to external candidates, the Lions spoke with vice president of player personnel Kyle O'Brien, director of player personnel Lance Newmark and director of pro scouting Rob Lohman about the opening. 

Newmark has been with the Lions the longest, joining the organization in 1998. During his time with the franchise, he worked nine years as a regional and national scout before he was promoted to assistant director of college scouting.

After seven years in that role, Newmark served as the director of college scouting until he was promoted to his current position three years ago. 

Lohman began working in the NFL with the Houston Texans as a scouting intern in 2001. After six years with that franchise, he took a player personnel position with the Lions in 2007, aiding both the college and pro scouting departments. 

Prior to being named the director of pro scouting in 2019, he served as an assistant director in the department for five seasons. 

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O'Brien came to Detroit along with Quinn in 2015, serving as the former general manager's right-hand man with the construction of the roster the previous five seasons. He previously worked with the New England Patriots (2002-11), Kansas City (2012) and Jacksonville (2013-15). 

In addition to the internal options, the Lions are free to conduct interviews with candidates not currently employed by NFL teams, such as former Texans vice president of football operations Rick Smith, former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, former Giants general manager Jerry Reese or ESPN analyst Louis Riddick. 

The Lions must wait until after the regular season to conduct interviews with candidates currently employed by other franchises. The team isn't likely to announce a hiring until mid-January.