Lions expected to hire Bob Quinn as general manager, sources say

— -- The Detroit Lions are expected to hire New England Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn as their general manager, league sources told ESPN.

The two sides are finalizing a deal that is expected to be done shortly, per sources. 

A Lions team spokesman said the franchise has "nothing to report at this time" about the potential hiring of a general manager.

The Lions have interviewed candidates such as interim GM Sheldon White, Seattle's Trent Kirchner and Kevin Abrams from the New York Giants. But ultimately the Lions wanted to go outside and bring in an outsider's fresh perspective.

Quinn, who is from Norwood, Massachusetts, has worked for the Patriots the past 16 seasons, most recently as the team's director of pro scouting from 2012 to present. He is one of the few members of the Patriots' personnel department who is inside the draft room, which in part reflects the level of trust he's earned within the organization.

Other teams with general manager openings now include the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns, who are expected to hire a vice president of player personnel.

The Lions are hiring Quinn after firing team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew on Nov. 5, after the team started the season 1-7. At the time, the Lions promoted White to interim GM.

When Detroit fired Lewand and Mayhew and hired Rod Wood to be the team's president, they said they wanted to hire a general manager who had a pedigree with a winning organization. Quinn, who has been one of coach Bill Belichick's most trusted lieutenants, has that.

"We're looking for someone to come in and build a winning program for the long haul," Wood said Sunday. "And hopefully somebody that can take what we have on the field now, which obviously we demonstrated the second half of the season that we've got talent and build on it and produce a winning team next year and the years beyond."

Quinn, who graduated from the University of Connecticut, has been with the Patriots his entire professional career, starting as a player personnel assistant in 2000 and working his way up to director of pro scouting.

ESPN Lions reporter Michael Rothstein contributed to this report.