Between being a consultant helping teams search for general managers and his time on the NFL’s career development advisory board, Ernie Accorsi has ample knowledge of the top personnel men around the league.
But, even Accorsi hadn’t met Bob Quinn until last week.
Accorsi, the former GM whom the Lions hired as a consultant in November, knew of Quinn, who had been the director of pro scouting for the New England Patriots since 2012, and he started doing more research on one of New England’s top personnel bosses a year ago. Over the past year, Accorsi said he and Quinn had several long phone conversations, and when the Lions could start interviewing candidates to replace GM Martin Mayhew, Accorsi had Quinn near the top of the list.