Tom Brady,Josh McDaniels,Bill Belichick

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, left, and coach Bill Belichick both offered full-throated support for Lions GM Bob Quinn this week.

(AP Photo)

HOUSTON -- Everywhere you look at the Super Bowl is a Bob Quinn connection. And everywhere you look, a Bob Quinn fan.

He has close ties to the New England Patriots, of course, who face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Super Bowl LI. He worked for the franchise for his first 16 years in the league, joining them fresh out of college at the bottom of their scouting department and working his way up through the ranks.

Quinn became known for having an unusually keen eye for talent. Not just which players were good, and which weren't, but how they would fit into the greater framework of the roster and organization. And by the end of his tenure there, he was a key talent evaluator for a roster that made six Super Bowls in his 16 years there. (And now a seventh, with a roster that has his fingerprints all over it.)

"Bob was very meticulous about everything we did," said linebackers coach Brian Flores, who worked alongside Quinn in New England's college scouting department from 2004-07 before becoming an assistant. "Each player. Strengths, weaknesses. How he helped the team. He was very smart -- pinpoint- -- just as far as how he feels on a guy, and how he fit our team, which is different for every team."

Quinn developed a reputation among people throughout the Patriots organization for slaving through long hours with an attention for detail and began ascending through the scouting department. He was promoted to pro scout in 2002, then regional college scout in 2004, national college scout in 2008, assistant director of pro personnel in 2009 and finally director of pro scouting in 2012, the job he held until taking over in Detroit last offseason.

Along the way, he gained entry to Bill Belichick's notoriously small inner circle.

"I can't say enough good things about Bob and what he did for our organization and what he did for me personally," Belichick told the Lions team site. "He was always giving a good, honest opinion. It wasn't always something that we agreed on. That was healthy, because it forced me to look at things and quite often he was right in his opinion and I felt like I was wrong in mine. He gave me great direction."

Quinn also was well-reputed among players, and maintains contact with quarterback Tom Brady.

"I like Bob a lot," Brady said. "Bob and I always had a lot of conversations. He's in Detroit now and got a great opportunity and there's a few other guys from our team have gone there. We've always kept in touch and I obviously wish them the very best.

"They had a great season this year and they have some very talented people there that I was very fortunate to know when they were with the Patriots that are now at Detroit. Hopefully they can keep building."

Quinn has a lot of building to do in Detroit, as his first year showed. He inherited a franchise that spent 2015 offloading coaches and front office personnel during a disastrous 1-7 start, then lost legendary receiver Calvin Johnson to retirement. But he was able to acquire enough pieces in a single offseason to push Detroit to the brink of a division title in Year 1, and even though they came up short, still made the playoffs.

Several Quinn moves played a key role in the push, including a draft haul that was headlined by first-rounder Taylor Decker, one of the best rookie offensive linemen in the game. Guard Graham Glasgow and defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson both became starters as well, while safety Miles Killebrew played a key reserve role on defense.

Receiver Marvin Jones, the marquee free agent signing, was a disappointment. But quiet pickups such as receiver Anquan Boldin, safety Tavon Wilson, special teams ace Johnson Bademosi and returner Andre Roberts proved instrumental. And by avoiding big-money pitfalls, Detroit is in excellent financial shape heading into an offseason where quarterback Matthew Stafford could draw an extension.

"I think Bob did a great job this year," New England owner Bow Kraft said. "The first year of any personnel man coming in, they have to clean out and starting making their vision. And, look, you folks made the playoffs. I don't know how often that has happened. Things are only going to get better there."

While Quinn's connections run deepest in New England, he's also close to Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who was once so low in the Patriots organization that he was helping the grounds crew paint the field. But like Quinn, Dimitroff won the favor of Belichick because of a careful eye for talent and a knack for pushing the right players.

He actually oversaw Quinn for four seasons as a regional scout.

"Bob Quinn's a very smart football guy," said Dimitroff, who also was a one-time Lions scout. "He's been around the best, obviously, in building teams in New England, and he knows what it is to build teams. He's got a great future. I personally like Bob a lot."

Not all Belichick proteges have found success outside the friendly confines of Foxborough. See: Pioli, Scott. And there was a time when Dimitroff, who took over in Atlanta in 2008, looked he could be headed that way too. Atlanta lost four of its first five playoff games under him, then slipped to 4-12 in 2013 and 6-10 in 2014.

At that point, Dimitroff replaced coach Mike Smith with Dan Quinn. Then the Falcons went 8-8 in 2015, followed by their march to the Super Bowl this season, and a showdown with the patriarch of the Belichick coaching tree.

Dimitroff said his relationship with Quinn has been a big reason for Atlanta's success, and believes Quinn could have something similar going on with Caldwell.

"They're a good pair there. I think that he and the head coach have a real good understanding of working together," Dimitroff said. "Just seeing them operate "Knowing and talking to Bob periodically, I know he believes in the importance of a partnership. That's what's so important in this league. If you don't have a GM-head coach partnership, you can't thrive in this league."

The Lions haven't thrived in this league since the inception of the Super Bowl itself, though it sure seems like many of the people pulling the strings of the teams that got here this year believe Quinn is the right man for the job.

"He's been there for my whole career in New England," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said, "and his attention to detail is incredible. Detroit's got a good one, I know that. They're on the right track."