Louis Riddick enjoyed a seven-year career in the NFL and later served in the front office for both the Washington Football Team and the Eagles. His next stop might be Detroit.
The Lions plan to interview Riddick for their GM opening on Friday. If he lands the job, he'll face a major decision on Matthew Stafford.
So it's worth noting what Riddick had to say about Stafford prior to this season. In short, Stafford is a quarterback you can win with -- and the Lions have 'failed' him.
"They haven’t put much around this young man at all. From 2011-2017, Matthew Stafford threw for over 4,000 yards every single season. In 2011, he threw for 5,000 yards. He basically has carried this football team on his own with no help," Riddick said in April on ESPN's Get Up.
Riddick added that Stafford has "been a top-10 quarterback the entire time he’s been in the National Football League." The problem is that "everything around him has been absolutely average to below average to mediocre. It’s been subpar. He’s gotten no help. No quarterback can transcend mediocrity when it's surrounding him."
Stafford has a career record or 74-87-1. He has three playoff appearances and zero playoff wins. For a litany of reasons, he simply hasn't won in Detroit. Riddick said Stafford isn't one of them.
"The people around Matthew have failed him. Matthew hasn't failed Detroit. The people around Matthew have failed Detroit," said Riddick.
Here's the thing: Stafford is still surrounded by mediocrity. The Lions continue to run the ball nowhere and their defense is lacking playmakers at every position. So the question for Riddick, should he wind up calling the shots, is whether he can fix that quickly enough to justify keeping Stafford on the roster.
Because if not, his own logic would say it's time to move on.