Allen Park — When Bob Quinn took over as Detroit Lions general manager in Jan. 2016, the team was coming off a 7-9 season, but had won six of its final eight games the year before.
Both the offense and defense had been middle-of-the-road units that previous season. But the offense, under coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, who had been promoted into the role midseason, appeared to be on an upward trajectory.
The Lions went 9-7 in each of Quinn's first two seasons at the helm, with both the offense and defense continuing to be part of the league's middle class.