Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn continues to overhaul the team's front office.
On Thursday, he fired vice president of pro personnel Sheldon White, who had been the team's interim general manager the second half of the 2015 season. He also interviewed for the job on a permanent basis and was always considered a candidate for the job, but the Lions hired Quinn instead.
White's firing was first reported by MLive.
White had been with the Lions for 19 seasons and was the vice president of pro personnel since 2009. He worked his way up from being a BLESTO-area scout when he was hired in 1997 to the role he held until Thursday.
The Miami (Ohio) graduate and Dayton, Ohio, native had helped the Lions make a number of critical signings over the past few seasons, including George Johnson and Rashean Mathis. He ran the free-agent meetings for the club.
He had been promoted to interim general manager after the Lions fired Martin Mayhew on Nov. 5, 2015. In that time, he found C.J. Wilson, who ended up being part of Detroit's defensive tackle rotation, and re-signed Crezdon Butler, who made one of the most critical plays of the Lions' season.
White played cornerback for the Giants, Lions and Bengals from 1988 to 1993.
"I want to thank the Ford family for allowing me to work with the Detroit Lions for 19 years," White said in a statement to the team's official reporter. "My children are true Michiganders. I also want to personally thank Mrs. Ford for giving me the opportunity to be the interim general manager for the last half of the 2015 season.
"Hopefully we will carry the momentum from our 6-2 finish into the 2016 season. Go Lions."
White is the latest long-tenured Lions front-office person to be let go under Quinn. The Lions had previously fired Cedric Saunders and Scott McEwen, the team's longest-tenured scout.
Quinn has hired Kyle O'Brien to be the director of player personnel, Kevin Anderson as the chief of staff, Randy Edsall as the director of football research and Matt Harriss as the vice president of football administration as part of his remake of the Lions' front office.