INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 25: General Manager John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
John Schneider is not leaving Seattle for Detroit anytime soon.
Not only do the Detroit Lions need to settle on a new head coach after firing Matt Patricia, but they also have to fill a vacancy in their front office, as GM Bob Quinn was also deposed in the middle of the season.
While names like Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick have come up, one of the biggest names linked to the Job has been John Schneider, who has been leading the Seattle Seahawks for the next decade.
Schneider claimed that he and his wife are happy with living in Seattle before squashing any interest in taking on the challenge of resurrecting the Lions.
John Schneider would’ve been an ideal candidate to turn the Lions around
Schneider, who got his start in the front office with the Green Bay Packers, has been the GM in Seattle since 2010, meaning that it was him who selected Russell Wilson in the third round and was one yard away from consecutive Super Bowls in the middle part of the decade.
While Schneider and Pete Carroll often split authority on personnel moves, and some Seahawks fans have grown frustrated with his inability to turn first-round picks into premium players, Schneider’s keen scouting eye has helped make Seattle a perennial contender, and Detroit had to be fuming when he turned them down.
Whoever takes the Detroit job will have to deal with an impatient fanbase, a tough division, a difficult decision to make at quarterback, and only $10 million in cap space. Schneider has the front-office savvy to walk right in and at least make the Lions a watchable football team, but they would need to promise him a lot to pry him away from Seattle.