Lions tweak power structure; GM and coach will share roster decisions

With the hiring of general manager Brad Holmes and the impending hire of a new head coach, the Detroit Lions have made slight alterations to the power structure at the top of the organization. 

Under the previous regime, general manager Bob Quinn was a separate layer between ownership and the football operations, including coach Matt Patricia. Going forward, the general manager, coach and Mike Disner, the vice president of football operations who will have an expanded role going forward, will all directly report to president Rod Wood and owner Sheila Ford Hamp. 

As for roster decisions, those will be made collaboratively by Holmes and the head coach 

"Brad and our new head coach will be collaborating on the 53-man roster," Wood said. "They're each going to have input. As we've talked about, we want a culture where everybody is working together. I think that will work fine once we have our new head coach in place."

Holmes said during his introductory news conference on Tuesday that the goal with all roster moves will be providing players to meet the head coach's vision for the team. 

With Disner, who joined the Lions in 2019 and was the chief contract negotiator, he'll see his responsibilities grow within the new setup to free Holmes to focus on the roster. 

The final piece to the puzzle is Chris Spielman, who served as an adviser during both the coaching and general manager searches. While still not clearly defined, the plan is for him to be involved in all aspects of the organization, without directly managing any individual. 

"Chris is an adviser to the two of us," Wood said, referring also to Ford Hamp. "He's been instrumental in this whole process. Obviously, now that we've got hopefully the searches almost behind us, Chris will be engaged in helping everybody throughout the organization. Not just the football side of it, but even on the business side and helping bring in new sponsors, working with our folks at Ford Field. No direct management responsibility but a wide range of areas that he's going to be helpful in."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers