Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew quickly named a top candidate for fresh GM opening

With success comes those who want to replicate it for themselves by poaching people from your organization. The Detroit Lions are experiencing this as offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have become top head coaching candidates.

In concert with perhaps hiring Johnson or Glenn as their next head coach, some teams may eye a member of the Lions' front office to facilitate the hire. No, general manager Brad Holmes isn't going anywhere. But it seems like a matter of time before assistant general manager Ray Agnew gets a general manager job elsewhere, and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler put Agnew on his list of intriguing general manager candidates around the league in the wake of the Jets firing Joe Douglas on Tuesday.

Fowler mentioned the Jets' GM opening, but the list was generalized in terms of GM candidates. But Agnew has already been mentioned as a candidate for the Jets' job.

Ray Agnew easily surfaces as candidate to be the Jets' new general manager

ESPN's Rich Cimini put Agnew (and Lions' senior personnel executive John Dorsey) on his list of Jets' general manager candidates.

On the same note, Tyler Brooke of The 33rd Team has Agnew on his list of five general manager candidates for the Jets after Douglas' firing.

"A former first-round defensive lineman back in 1990, Agnew spent a decade in the NFL as a player before moving over to the front office. After moving over, Agnew has served multiple roles for both the Rams and Lions, from assistant general manager and director of pro personnel to team pastor. As a former player, Agnew has a perspective that very few potential GMs have. This perspective clearly gives Agnew a way to relate to and care for players in a way that few general managers can."

"Brad Holmes brought Agnew with him to Detroit when he took over as GM, but with how well things are going for the Lions, he may not be able to keep key front office members forever."

"Despite the situation, this would be a great opportunity for Agnew in New York to show the rest of the league what he'd be capable of doing as an NFL general manager."

The culture in Detroit compels people to want to stay, while the Jets are a long-running, well-known dysfunctional mess and will continue to be as long as Woody Johnson is the owner. The "anyone who has options won't want to work for the Jets" conversation stands, and Agnew may have multiple options when it comes to opportunities to become a general manager after the season.

That said, Agnew being willing to take on the challenge the Jets' situation would present can't be totally ruled out. With their general manager opening existing before Thanksgiving, he's an automatic and obvious candidate right now.