The 5 biggest decisions facing new Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia

When Bob Quinn set off on his coaching search 36 days ago, he said he wanted to find someone who had a strong opinion about the personnel of his football team.

"I do want someone that’s opinionated," Quinn said at the time. "I think that’s the most important relationship in this building is between the head coach and the general manager, so we have to be on the same page of 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. So I think that’s huge."

Quinn will continue to pick the players for the Lions roster, both in the draft and free agency, but new coach Matt Patricia will have plenty of input in the process.

The two already have a good relationship from their years together with the New England Patriots — they worked together in 2004-15 — and both speak the same football language after getting their starts in the NFL under Bill Belichick.

So as Patricia tidies up his loose ends in New England before heading west for his introductory news conference Wednesday, here's a cheat sheet of the five most important decisions he has to make (in conjunction with Quinn) this offseason:

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What to do with Ziggy Ansah?

This is the most important thing the Lions have to resolve in the next month. Ansah is set to be an unrestricted free agent in mid-March, and though he has played two inconsistent seasons in Detroit since Quinn came aboard, he's clearly the team's best pass rusher.

The Lions have three options with Ansah.

1. They can let him test free agency, where he'll command an oversized contract as the second-best defensive end on the market behind DeMarcus Lawrence (or the best, if the Cowboys sign or tag Lawrence).

2. They can try and sign him to a long-term deal before the free-agent negotiating period opens March 12 (and pay him that large contract themselves).

3. They can use the franchise tag to keep him in Detroit for 2018 at around $17.5 million.

Ansah turns 29 in May and has battled a slew of ankle, knee and back injuries the past two seasons that have made him an inconsistent player, so there's significant risk in any longterm deal. The best option, in my eyes, is to hedge all bets with Ansah, use the tag to keep him off the market and hope you can land a long-term replacement in the draft.

Patricia has won big before without a great pass rusher. This year, the Patriots had a top-five scoring defense with no one you would recognize on the defensive line. But life is a lot easier if you can get to the quarterback, so it's important to bring Ansah back.

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Bring Haloti Ngata back for another year?

Ngata won't command anywhere near the money that Ansah will in free agency, but this decision is just as complicated.

The Lions' defense fell apart after Ngata tore his bicep in October, and Patricia's defenses in New England have typically had a big nose tackle up front. The issue, though, is Ngata is 34 years old and hasn't played a full 16-game season since 2011. If you're the Lions, how much money, and in what form, do you want to commit to an injury-prone but still productive defensive tackle?

Ngata said last month he would probably postpone retirement and play one more NFL season, but that doesn't mean he'll do it for the league minimum. Maybe Ngata and the Lions can find common ground on an incentive-laden deal, or maybe Patricia has a replacement in mind.

How big is the need at RB?

Quinn has been an Ameer Abdullah backer. Last year, he said he believed Abdullah was a starting-caliber NFL running back, and he backed up his words by passing on any significant help at the position in free agency and the draft.

Last month, Quinn said he "absolutely" planned to add a running back this offseason, but he also defended the Lions' current collection of backs — Abdullah, Theo Riddick and Tion Green, primarily — as "guys in that room that are tough guys, they're smart guys, they have skill."

Patricia's evaluation of that group will be key to Quinn's decision on what type of resource to use in adding a running back. If he likes one or more of those players, maybe it's a late-round pick. If Patricia falls in love with a running back in the draft, perhaps it's an early pick. Maybe, he'd rather bring someone like Dion Lewis with him from New England.

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Is Graham Glasgow a center?

This goes in hand with the running back position, but the Lions have decisions to make on their offensive line. Travis Swanson is not expected back at center, but the Lions have a potential replacement in Graham Glasgow.

The front office has always viewed Glasgow as a future center, but Patricia and his new offensive line coach — Jeff Davidson is the presumptive hire — have enough film on Glasgow at that position to decide the direction they want to go.

If the coaches view Glasgow as a better guard, than the Lions have a bigger-than-anticipated need on the offensive line that they'll need to address in free agency or early in the draft. If they think Glasgow is a center, and former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky said last week he thinks Glasgow has the right attributes for the position, than the Lions can perhaps wait on finding a guard to compete with Joe Dahl for the final starting spot.

Who is or isn't a defensive scheme fit?

Patricia hasn't shed much light on the defensive scheme he's bringing with him from New England, though he's expected to be very versatile, or the coaches who'll run it. But assuming that has been hashed out, the next step is for Patricia and his staff to figure out which Lions are and aren't fits.

Darius Slay, Glover Quin, Jarrad Davis and a few others could have a home in most defenses, but Patricia is bound to have his own thoughts on some of the other defensive personnel. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is historically on the small side for a Patriots linebacker, what will the future hold for him in Detroit? Does Patricia see Quandre Diggs as a safety or nickel cornerback? And would he like to bring back any pending free agents like Tavon Wilson, Tahir Whitehead or DJ Hayden?

The Lions shouldn't have as much turnover offensively with Jim Bob Cooter still on board, but this could be a year of major turnover on defense and Patricia's input will send Quinn and his staff in the right direction of all that needs to be done.

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Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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