General manager Bob Quinn gave some insight Wednesday into the new structure of the Lions' personnel department.
Kyle O'Brien, who Quinn hired from the Jacksonville Jaguars, runs the department as the director of player personnel.
"He is going to be our director of player personnel and he is going to oversee the scouting department, both the college and pro sides," Quinn said.
"He's a long-trusted friend and confidant. We started – he was an intern with the Patriots when I was in my first couple years full-time. He was going to Harvard and he would drive over and work nights doing the playbooks, helping us with scouting tapes and it was just really good.
"He was an easy guy to work with because he's so intelligent. I mean, how many guys in football actually go to Harvard and end up doing scouting? I mean, he could probably be doing bigger and better things in the world, but he loves his job and I love having him here with me."
Under O'Brien are Lance Newmark, who Quinn confirmed will remain the director of college scouting and will help run his first NFL Draft in that role, and Sheldon White, who will direct things on the pro side.
Newmark is in his 18th season in the Lions' personnel department. He was promoted from assistant director of college scouting last spring.
Quinn said he's known Newmark for a while on the scouting trail.
"Colleagues of mine around the league that I trust have said great things about him and so far the first couple weeks we've worked really well together," he said. "Lance is here."
Quinn seemed a little more ambiguous with the status of White, who served as the interim general manager for the second half of last season after Martin Mayhew was fired.
"Yeah, we're still evaluating everybody, so the decisions that were made so far are out there in terms of the staff changes and everyone else is still working," Quinn said when asked about White.
"The pro guys are back there (in Allen Park) working right now on free agency. You know, I thought that was the most prudent thing for them to kind of concentrate on rather than coming down here and look at the college guys. So, they're back there working on that stuff right now as we speak."
Quinn already put his mark on the football operations side of the organization by letting go longtime scout Scott McEwen, vice president of football operations Cedric Saunders and strength and conditioning coaches Jason Arapoff and Ted Rath.
