Detroit Lions hire Brandon Sosna away from USC as senior director of football administration

The Detroit Lions talked to him last August, but they’ve now sealed a deal to bring Brandon Sosna from USC into their front office.

On the final day of mandatory minicamp, the Detroit Lions made a front office move. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Lions will hire USC chief of staff for athletics Brandon Sosna as their senior director of football administration. Lions head coach Dan Campbell confirmed the hire during a press conference later on Thursday.

Per Thamel, Sosna started informing colleagues of his decision this week. He has overseen the football program at USC.

Sosna followed USC athletic director Mike Bohn from Cincinnati to USC in 2019, and Bohn has credited him as the architect of the “brilliant” search that landed Lincoln Riley as the Trojans’ football coach. He is also tabbed with a behind the scenes role in Cincinnati’s hiring of Luke Fickell.

Sosna made Forbes “30 Under 30” list in 2020, as Lions’ cap guru (and now Chief Operating Officer) Mike Disner did back in 2014.

Brandon Sosna didn’t just land on the Detroit Lions’ radar

As Thamel was among those to note, the Lions interviewed Sosna in August 2021. This time around, per Thamel, USC’s attempts to keep him couldn’t keep him from going back to the NFL.

"USC was aggressive in trying to retain Sosna, sources said, but the lure of a career in the NFL trumped anything the school could come up with."

Back to the NFL?

Sosna previously spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, with roles that including salary cap and contract analysis. Lions’ senior front office executive John Dorsey was the Browns’ general manager during that time.

Via the re-share of a colleague’s article by Chris Burke of The Athletic, here’s what Dorsey had to say about losing Sosna in Cleveland.

"I basically cried when he left, to be honest with you. Because you don’t want to lose really good talented, young guys"

Sosna is taking a new, and not yet fully defined it seems, role in the Lions’ front office. But there can really never be enough smart people in the room, and another has apparently been added in Detroit.