Saturday open thread: Do you prove of the Detroit Lions’ decision to retain GM Bob Quinn?

Earlier in the week, we polled Detroit Lions fans on the team’s decision to retain head coach Matt Patricia after his 9-20-1 start to his reign. After nearly 2,000 votes, 57 percent of you agreed with the decision to keep Patricia around. MLive conducted a similar poll, and their results skewed a little more negative, with only 42 percent of the fans agreeing with the decision.

However, MLive’s poll combined the decisions to keep Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn, while ours was just about Patricia.

Let’s take today to see how fans feel about Quinn separately.

Today’s Question of the Day is:

Do you approve of the Lions’ decision to bring back general manager Bob Quinn?

My answer: Yes, for now.

As I stated earlier in the week, I was in favor of keep Patricia around for one more year. I don’t feel particularly strong about that, but if I was forced to pick a side, I typically lean keeping some semblance of stability in the staff, especially this early in their reign.

But it’s a little different for Bob Quinn. This is Year 4, not Year 2, for the Lions GM. He’s had some pretty significant whiffs in the draft (Teez Tabor, Michael Roberts, Jarrad Davis (?)), but some pretty solid hits, too. His 2016 draft includes three full-time starters for the 2019 season, and his 2018 draft is off to a solid start with Frank Ragnow, Kerryon Johnson, Tracy Walker and Da’Shawn Hand all building to potential long-time starters.

He has some hits and misses, as all general managers do, and now that he’s drafting for a coach and scheme he’s more familiar with, he has openly said he feels more comfortable.

However, being a GM isn’t just about the draft. Quinn has really struggled in free agency the past two years. In 2018, the results were ugly: Luke Willson, Levine Toilolo, LeGarrette Blount, Sylvester Williams, Christian Jones, DeShawn Shead. There were a lot of busts there, but the good news was that most were on short-term contract.

2019 Quinn got more aggressive and the results were similarly disappointing. He spent big money on the likes of Jesse James, Justin Coleman and Mike Daniels, and all three disappointed. Unfortunately for Detroit, they are going to be stuck with James’ and Coleman’s bulky, back-loaded contract for at least the next two years—and that could have some serious salary cap ramifications down the line. Obviously, the Trey Flowers addition looks to be a solid move, but even he underwhelmed a bit in his first year in Detroit.

Ultimately, though, if you’re keeping Patricia for a year, you may as well keep Quinn around to see if the duo can recapture some of that 2018 magic in the draft and finally get it together in free agency. Again, it’s not an easy answer, and both should be considered on thin ice next year, but ultimately, I think one more year is warranted.

Your turn.