Report: Lions to interview ESPN’s Riddick for GM
Twenty years ago, the Lions made a splash by luring Matt Millen out of the broadcast booth to be their president and general manager. Now, it’s possible they go the TV route again.
ESPN and NFL Network reported Wednesday that the Lions will interview ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for their vacant GM job later this week.
Riddick is scheduled to meet with the Houston Texans on Wednesday and the Lions on Friday, according to ESPN. Riddick’s agent declined comment to the Free Press.
A ninth-round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1991, Riddick played seven seasons for four teams before embarking on a front office career.
He worked as a pro scout and the director of pro personnel in Washington in 2001-07, then spent six years with the Philadelphia Eagles, the last three as director of pro personnel.
At ESPN, Riddick has been a popular part of the network’s NFL coverage since 2013, and joined the Monday Night Football broadcast booth earlier this year.
Millen failed miserably in his seven seasons in Detroit, but other TV analyst have made a more successful jump to the NFL.
John Lynch, a longtime NFL safety who became an analyst for Fox after he retired, took over as 49ers general manager in 2017 and helped the organization reach the Super Bowl last year.
Jon Gruden, a coach-turned-broadcasterturned-coach again, and former NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, are coach and general manage of the Las Vegas Raiders, who at 7-6 are vying for a playoff spot.
The Lions interviewed three in-house candidates for the GM job last week — vice president of player personnel Kyle O’Brien, director of player personnel Lance Newmark and director of pro scouting Rob Lohman — are plan to meet with former Houston Texans GM Rick Smith before Christmas.
On Tuesday, the Lions introduced another former player-turned-TV analyst, Chris Spielman, as special assistant to president Rod Wood and chairman/owner Sheila Ford Hamp.
At the time, Wood said previous experience matters for both the GM and head coach positions, but that it is not a pre-requisite for either job.
“Certainly experience is something we’re going to take into account,” Wood said. “If somebody has had prior experience as either a GM or a head coach, you have maybe a better opportunity to evaluate what they may do in either job, but it’s not going to be a prerequisite necessarily. And I think we’re trying to find the best team, and if that means they’re two first time individuals, that’ll be what happens. If it means one of them has experience and one of them doesn’t, that’ll be what happens. But certainly, having experiences, it gives you an opportunity to evaluate whether they’ve been successful in the job, versus trying to project.”