Lions hire New England's Kevin Anderson to head football operations

Forget the header image, it's apropos of nothing, albeit tangentially connected to the New England Patriots. Indeed, Lions fans keep talking about the importation of the Patriot Way to Allen Park, and with more personnel hirings, those who are of that mind will find more credence.

On Thursday, news broke out that the Lions had hired Kevin Anderson to head the department of football operations under the new Bob Quinn regime:

Lions are hiring former New England Patriots director of player development, Kevin Anderson, to head their football operations department.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) January 28, 2016

Kevin Anderson had been with the Patriots since 2006, previously holding internship roles and the position of football operations manager before becoming the director of player development. He is a graduate of Indiana University, majoring in sports management.

It's yet another former Patriot compatriot of Bob Quinn coming to work for him in Detroit, and Anderson has previous experience working in football operations. It's another important-sounding role in the front office being crossed off the list as the new regime begins to take shape. Kevin Anderson was reportedly with Bob Quinn on Wednesday.

Anderson's role as the head of football operations is a bit unclear, but as Tim Twentyman reports, he will report directly to Quinn and have a few, fancy new titles:

Anderson will hold the title of Chief of Staff, Assistant to the GM and will report directly to GM Bob Quinn.

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) January 28, 2016