The Detroit Lions are losing a key member of their front office.
Lions director of college scouting Dave Sears is leaving the organization to become assistant general manager of the Arizona Cardinals, a source told the Free Press. NFL Network first reported the news.
Sears joined the Lions in 2007 and served a variety of roles with the team. He was the Lions’ southeast regional scout, responsible for much of SEC country, before becoming director of college scouting in 2019.
As college scouring director, Sears was responsible was overseeing much of the Lions’ drafts in recent years. Under general manager Brad Holmes, the Lions have had two of the best drafts in the NFL.
They took right tackle Penei Sewell, a Pro Bowl alternate, with their first-round pick in 2021, and landed top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round. Last year, the Lions drafted defensive starters Aidan Hutchinson (No. 2 overall), Kerby Joseph (third round) and Malcolm Rodriguez (fifth round), and have two more promising picks in Jameson Williams and Josh Paschal.
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The Lions have two picks in both the first and second rounds this season, and three of the first 81 picks overall.
Sears entered the NFL with the Washington Commanders in 1997 and spent the 2000-06 seasons with the Houston Texans, where he worked with new Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort in 2004-05.
The Cardinals fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury after the season and general manager Steve Keim re-signed for what the team called medical reasons.
The Cardinals are scheduled to interview Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for their head coaching job on Saturday.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.