An NFL.com report over the weekend said former Jaguars vice president of player personnel James “Shack” Harris had been contacted about joining Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand in the Lions front office.

I spoke with Harris this morning and he said he talked with Mayhew shortly after his appointment as new Lions general manager, congratulating him on the promotion, but that no other discussions have taken place.

“The conversation we had is he is basically focusing in on interviewing coaches and mentioned some of the things he had in mind, but we haven't had any detailed conversations,” Harris said.

The Lions are expected to hire some sort of assistant general manager to help make over one of the least talented rosters in the NFL. Asked what he was looking for in his next stop, Harris said, “What I'm doing right now is trying to decide what's the next direction for me.”

“I certainly enjoy what I was doing and if an opportunity like (the one I had in Jacksonville) came along I certainly would be interested,” he said. “But right now I just have to keep all of my options open.”

And his timetable for getting back into football?

“It kind of depends on my options,” he said.

I've written it before, but I think Harris is a strong candidate to join the Lions. He's had experience – and more importantly success  – building the type of physical, defensive-minded team Mayhew wants at two different stops. As director of pro personnel for the Ravens, his handprints were on the signings of veterans like Rod Woodson and Trent Dilfer who helped Baltimore win its Super Bowl, and as VP with Jaguars he helped unearth draft gems like Maurice Jones-Drew (second round, 2006) and Bobby McCray (seventh, 2004).

As an added bonus, Harris worked with Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in Baltimore. Schwartz, who's reported to have his second interview with the Lions today, coached outside linebackers with the Ravens before moving on to Tennessee 10 years ago.

Harris declined to comment about any of the Lions' potential coaching hires.