ALLEN PARK -- Bob Quinn fired the most successful Lions coach in the Super Bowl era. There's nothing subtle about that, and it raises the stakes in 2018.

Even he admits that.

"At the end of the day, I want to take this team to the next level," he said Monday. "And to me, that's winning the Super Bowl."

Again, there's nothing subtle about the decision to fire Jim Caldwell after two straight winning seasons. This is a statement that 9-7 isn't good enough, and 9-7 in back-to-back years surely isn't good enough. The next guy has to win big. Or else.

Which begs the question, just who is the next guy? What exactly is Quinn looking for here? Here are eight things he said he wants in his next head coach.

He doesn't care about offensive or defensive background. Most of the early names linked to the opening are defensive coordinators like Carolina's Steve Wilks, Houston's Mike Vrabel, New England's Matt Patricia and even Detroit's very own Teryl Austin. But Minnesota offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has drawn interest too. In the end, Quinn says he doesn't care what side of the ball his next coach is on. "My preference is to hire the best coach to help us win a championship," he said. "I think when you look at the head coaches that are hired in this league, they come in all shapes and sizes, and I'm going out to find the best coach."

It could help a candidate if he has a history with Quinn. Might not be fair, but it's how the world works for the rest of us, and it's no different in the NFL. "(Working together) could factor in for sure -- it could," Quinn said. "But that's why the interview process is what it is. You spend time with people you may not know, and you get to know them, and maybe they change your opinion on them one way or the other. But it's a factor." Of course it is, and that's a big reason why Patricia is such a hot name right now. They worked together for more than a decade in New England. Yes, Patricia is a serious candidate, and perhaps the early favorite.

Offensive scheme won't matter much. This was a big priority the last time Detroit searched for a head coach because there was so much concern about the future of Matthew Stafford. But now that Stafford has established himself as one of the league's 10 best quarterbacks, the next hire can be about more than just saving Stafford. "I think Matthew's a good enough quarterback that he can kind of play in any system," Quinn said. "I mean, you guys have seen him play. He can make all the throws. So I don't think it's a big detriment of what scheme the new coach may or may not run."

The future of Jim Bob Cooter won't matter much, either. Stafford has lobbied for his offensive coordinator to keep his job, and it's easy to understand why. Stafford has put up some of the best numbers of his career under Cooter. Three of his four best QB ratings were posted under Cooter. His three most accurate seasons came under Cooter. Of course he wants this guy back. But Quinn says that's ultimately not a priority. "I'm trying to find the best head coach," he said, "and if the best head coach wants to keep that going (with Cooter), then that's something we can talk about. But my first focus is the head coach. We can worry about the offensive coordinator and the quarterback after that."

He's looking for a leader. OK, so this one is a little obvious, but we said we'd bring you everything Quinn is looking for in a head coach. So here we are. "Really just someone that can lead this team with the players we have and the players that we will acquire, and put them in the best position to win," Quinn said. So the Lions don't want a bad leader as their head coach. Glad we cleared that up.

Previous head coaching experience is helpful, but not required. "If he's been a head coach previously, that would probably help," Quinn said. "But that's not a prerequisite." That comes into play for a guy like Josh McDaniels, the former Broncos head coach and current New England offensive coordinator. He hasn't been linked to Detroit yet, but it wouldn't be a surprise if it eventually happened.

He'll consider college coaches. "Sure, yes," Quinn said. Based on what I'm hearing, though, I just wouldn't expect him to go seriously down this road.

He wants a coach who is opinionated. "The most important relationship in this building is between the head coach and the general manager," Quinn said. "So we have to be on the same page on what kind of players that the head coach wants, that we can communicate back and forth about guys that fit, the guys that don't fit. Whether that's current players, or whether that's free agency or whether that's the draft. I think that's huge. I think that's something that's going to be a big part of the interview process, about what do they think of players, how can they use players and how can they utilize the players that we already have here. Because we do have in my opinion a lot of good football players in that locker room."