The Detroit Lions introduced their new general manager, Bob Quinn, on Monday and it wasn't long before he was peppered with questions about the team's future. The head coach and No. 1 wide receiver positions are of particular interest.
As of right now, Jim Caldwell is still leading the Lions but that could change over the next week. Quinn only met Caldwell briefly Monday morning and said he has no timetable on his decision.
"I'm going to meet with him in the next couple days," Quinn said. "So until then I'm going to reserve judgement."
As for Calvin Johnson, who is still mulling his future, Quinn said he would stand by the statement Johnson made a week ago.
"I found over my experience in the National Football League that the couple weeks after the regular season is over is not the time to push a player into staying or going," Quinn said.
An opening news conference for a general manager is always a strange scene because for someone like Quinn, it is the culmination of decades of work. He gets to talk about his wife and kids and it's a moment where he feels absolute pride in everything he's managed to accomplish -- as well he should.
But unfortunately, when a team needs a new general manager that usually means they have a ton of unanswered questions. Quinn spent a majority of his time talking about what he might look for in a head coach -- he has a list of attributes he'll keep to himself -- and why he's waiting so long on Caldwell, which could in turn prevent assistants from getting jobs elsewhere during hiring season.
Johnson was always going to be a sticky matter anyway given his massive salary-cap number for next year. At 30, his body has seen a lifetime of damage and it might not be able to carry the type of production normally attached to a salary that large.
It was an indication of just how difficult the job is, but Quinn handled it well all things considered. Over the next few days, Quinn said he will talk with Caldwell, but that Caldwell's entire body of work will be considered. The former Colts head coach is 41-34 during the regular season with a 2-3 postseason record.
