Detroit plans to interview Louis Riddick Friday

A prominent candidate for the Detroit Lions’ general manager opening will be interviewed this Friday.

According to an NFL Network report, Detroit plans to interview ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick for its GM vacancy this Friday.

The current broadcaster last worked in an NFL front office in 2013 with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Riddick is the first known external candidate to be interviewed by the Lions, as three internal candidates were interviewed last week: Kyle O’Brien, Lance Newmark and Rob Lohman.

In a released memo, the team’s principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp indicated that experience would be a factor in the decision to hire Detroit’s next GM and head coach.

“This staffing change brings lots of work with it, (which) Rod and I and our advisors take very seriously,” Hamp said in a memo via the Detroit Free Press. “We are already deeply into researching top candidates for head coach and GM, and, as the recent internal memo stated, have already interviewed several in-house candidates for the GM job. This process will play out over the next six weeks or so, with the result being a well vetted and proven head coach/GM team that can finally take the Lions where we all so earnestly wish to go — to the top!”

Reportedly, Detroit has also been interested in Jerry Reese and Rick Smith — former general managers of the New York Giants and Houston Texans, respectively.