Justin Rogers | The Detroit News
Since hiring Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell as the team’s new general manager and head coach, respectively, the Detroit Lions have overhauled the coaching staff.
But the holdover front office personnel had largely remained untouched ahead of free-agency and the draft.
That changed at the end of this week when the franchise and Kyle O’Brien, vice president of player personnel, parted ways.
Brought in from Jacksonville in 2016, O’Brien served as the No. 2 in command behind former general manager Bob Quinn, overseeing both the college and pro scouting departments.
In Jacksonville, O’Brien worked as the team’s college scouting director. He also previously had stops as a scout in Kansas City (2012) and New England (2002-11). O’Brien was one of three internal candidates for Detroit’s GM vacancy following Quinn’s dismissal.
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The departure wasn’t unexpected given Holmes hired Rams pro personnel director Ray Agnew to serve as his assistant GM, which is essentially the same job held by O’Brien, just with a different title.
Additional changes to Detroit’s front office could be coming later in the offseason. The majority of contracts in that department, including the scouting staff, run through the draft.
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jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers