It's been a while since we've had to talk about finding a new head coach or general manager for the Detroit Lions. The Lions have finally found their guys and it's great for this franchise. 

With all the coaching and GM searches going on right now, I found myself looking back on the Lions' search in 2021 to remember who they interviewed in both searches and to find out what happened to those guys. Here's what I found. 

Head Coach interviews

Dan Campbell: Obviously we know this is the guy that got hired and he's likely to be around for a long time after the success of the last three seasons. 

Marvin Lewis: Lewis was just coming off of a 15-year stint with the Bengals and had done some coaching with Herm Edwards at Arizona State. The Lions only interviewed him once. He is now the Raiders assistant head coach.

Eric Bieniemy: He was a red-hot name in coaching searches during the time, but he never got the job anywhere. He went back with the Chiefs and had stints as offensive coordinator with the Commanders and UCLA.

Darell Bevell: Bevell was the Lions interim head coach at the time and this interview kind of felt like the Lions being nice. He wound up being the Jaguars interim head coach the very next year after they fired Urban Meyer. Bevell is now the Dolphins quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator. 

Robert Saleh: The big time favorite for Lions fans in this search. Pretty much everyone wanted this guy to get hired by Detroit. He wound up getting hired by the Jets instead. Saleh was let go by  New York mid-season this year. He's now the 49ers defensive coordinator. 

Arthur Smith: Smith was a hot candidate that cycle too and he also got hired by another team. He was the Falcons head coach for three seasons and was let go. He is now the Steelers offensive coordinator. 

Todd Bowles: An interesting one that I totally forgot about. Bowles is now the Buccaneers head coach and it's really working out for him over there. He keeps getting that team back in the playoffs. It's funny because Bowles and Campbell are so connected over the years. 

General Manager interviews

Brad Holmes: Again, we know the Lions got the right guy here. Holmes just won his second straight Executive of the Year award. Great hire. 

Kyle O'Brien: O'Brien was on Bob Quinn's staff as the director of player personnel. He did not get the job and was not retained by Holmes. He went to the Giants for one season and hasn't worked in the league since. 

Lance Newmark: This guy should have got a GM this year. It's surprising he didn't after interviewing with the Raiders and Jets. Newmark was with the Lions for 28 years and stayed on staff with Holmes until after last season when he took the assistant GM role with the Commanders.

Rob Lohman: Although Lohman didn't get the job, he is still with the Lions as their director of pro personnel. This season was his 18th with the Lions.

Kevin Colbert: He had just finished up 21 seasons with the Steelers. He was their GM for a good amount of that time as well. Helped them win two Super Bowls. He did not get the job and he now does a lot of media stuff. 

Ed Dodds: He was the Colts' assistant general manager at the time and is still the Colts' assistant general manager. He gets interviews for GM jobs every year and has yet to get one.

John Schneider: This one was never real. This was a "Hey Seahawks, pay me" interview. They did pay him. He is still their president of football operations and general manager.

Louis Riddick: Every year ESPN's Riddick gets interviews and everyone says that this guy would be a great GM, but for some reason, it just never happens. It didn't happen in 2021 either. 

Rick Smith: This guy is actually Dan Campbell's agent. He is also Ben Johnson's agent. That is weird. 

Scott Pioli: A former GM for both the Falcons and Chiefs. He currently works for NFL Network as an insider. 

Thomas Dimitroff: The former Falcons GM was fresh on the market and was considered to be a hot candidate in all the GM searches that year. He did not get hired and hasn't worked in the NFL since. He still gets GM interviews though.

Terry Fontenot: He didn't get hired by the Lions, but he did become the Falcons GM that year and he is still their GM today. 

Jeff Ireland: He was the Saints' assistant general manager and college scouting director at the time. He is still in that role. 

George Paton: Another guy who did get a job that year. He is still the Broncos' general manager today. 

Jerry Resse: He was the Giants GM until he was fired in 2017 and he has not worked in the NFL since. 

I think the big takeaway here is that this is not an easy thing to do. The Lions did have quite the wide search for GM candidates and they could have hit on a few other guys had they not gone with Holmes. They definitely did hire the right one. 

On the coaching side, man the Lions could have really screwed the pooch there. Wow did they luck out when they picked Campbell.

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