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On Tuesday night, the Detroit Lions reportedly flew aboard the Rams, with college scouting director Brad Holmes for a second interview for the vacant general manager position. He becomes the first candidate to pass a second interview and establish himself as a finalist for the position.
But according to Albert Breer of the MMQB, he is not alone. Breer says there are at least four other nominees the Lions hope to present for an in-person follow-up: Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds, Saints vice president / assistant professional general manager Terry Fontenot, vice -President of Saints / Deputy CEO of University Staff Jeff Ireland and Deputy CEO of Vikings, George Paton.
Dodds, the most popular of the peloton, just finished his interview with the team on Tuesday. He’s likely a strong candidate after stepping down from the Panthers job earlier in the week.
As for the Saints duo of Fontenot and Ireland, at least Fontenot is considered a finalist for the position of the Atlanta Falcons, who are said to have restricted their search to Fontenot, Holmes and former Texans general manager Rick Smith. Ireland interviewed the Panthers last week, but no follow-up has yet taken place.
The Lions will also have a competition for Paton. The Vikings’ deputy general manager had a second interview with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, as they moved closer to their search. Detroit may have a head start on Paton’s familiarity with Chris Spielman, given he works side-by-side with his brother, Rick, who is the general manager of the Vikings.
An interesting note about these finalists is that the Lions will not be able to interview Fontenot and Ireland until the Saints are eliminated from the playoffs or until the week between conference championship games and the Super Bowl, whichever comes first. Paton and Dodds, however, are available at all times.
The reason the Lions were able to bring Holmes for a second interview, even though the Rams are still in the playoffs, was explained Tuesday by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:
Quick explanation at the bottom of this story: Brad Holmes can speak to the Lions in person because he’s not in the Rams building (lives in Atlanta). If the Lions want to interview one of the Saints guys again, in person they have to wait until they lose https://t.co/gu4NXU7mkW
– Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) January 12, 2021
So if the Lions really see Fontenot or Ireland as a strong contender, that search might not be over for a few weeks. Last week, team president Rod Wood said if they had to wait for the right candidate, they would.
“We would be prepared to wait if that’s what it took to find the right person, yes. There is no deadline in our process. “
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