Report: Detroit Lions hiring former NFL GM John Dorsey to front office role

Over the weekend, rumors had been bubbling up that the Detroit Lions weren’t done rounding out their front office staff despite hiring general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. On Sunday afternoon, that mystery was solved.

As first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, and confirmed by many others, the Lions are expected to hire former Chiefs and Browns general manager John Dorsey for an unspecified role within the organization.

Dorsey started out his career in the early 1990s as a scout for the Green Bay Packers. He spent a year as the director of player personnel with the Seahawks before resigning and re-joining the Packers in 2000. From there, he worked his way from director of college scouting to director of football operations before landing his first shot at general manager.

In his collective seven years of general managing for the Chiefs and Browns, Dorsey was responsible for the draft selections of players like Patrick Mahomes, Kareem Hunt, Eric Fisher, Travis Kelce, Marcus Peters, Tyreek Hill, Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and Nick Chubb.

In 2020, Dorsey served as the Eagles’ front office assistant, but according to Zach Berman of The Athletic, his role with the Lions will be greater than that.

That being said, there is some risk that comes with Dorsey. There are some concerns about Dorsey’s workplace demeanor. Here’s Jeff Risdon of both Lions Wire and Browns Wire:

That was a carryover from his Kansas City experience, too. Dorsey has a confrontational nature to him when stressed, and he doesn’t react well to those who don’t fall in lockstep. It’s what led to his departure from the Chiefs.

For someone to come into an environment in an unconventional power structure with a focus on building a cooperative culture, there’s no doubt that Dorsey would be a risk.

That being said, in the same article Risdon fully supported the idea of Dorsey coming in and assisting a rookie general manager, which appears to be exactly what the Lions are doing.

“I’d love to see Dorsey come to Detroit as the Director of Football Operations to assist a rookie GM, if the 60-year-old former Packers linebacker is willing.”