In his first interview as Detroit Lions general manager, Brad Holmes talks with team senior writer Tim Twentyman about how he sees his new role within the organization, his experience interviewing for the GM position, analytics in scouting, succession plans, and turning the Lions into a winner.
With his football background and 18 years of experience with the Rams, Holmes is bringing a wealth of information to Detroit. And with the Lions’ front office reorganization allowing him to focus more on scouting, Holmes believes he is in a good spot to deliver a “No. 1 football product to the City of Detroit”.
“I know the general manager role and that’s the name of the position, but I truly see it as a service role,” Holmes said. “My No. 1 job is to serve the City of Detroit a No. 1 football product and hopefully uplift the community in that regard.”
Holmes was very complimentary of how the Lions handled the interview process, saying that once the session was over he immediately told his wife that principal owner Shelia Ford Hamp was someone “who you want to win for”.
“It was just a first-class process every step of the way with the dialogue, all the way up to (last) Wednesday, when I was awarded the job. It’s been first class and it just felt right. I’m just so excited and I can’t wait to get started.”
When talk turned to scouting, Holmes discussed the advantages of adapting to an ever-changing environment.
“I’m under the belief that just because scouting has been done one way, it doesn’t have to be done the same way all the time. Let’s utilize that technology. That’s something we will definitely utilize here with the Lions.”
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But it’s not just about turning the Lions around for Holmes, it’s about being successful and then maintaining that success.
“Everything is about succession plans. That’s just how I’m permanently wired. That’s how I view personnel. That’s how I view football. That’s how I view my own personal life.
“I just think making sure you’re aware of all possible angles and all possible outcomes that could happen, I think is very, very critical. I’ll admit I’m a nerd about predictive science and forecasting and I am because I think that’s our job. Our job is to predict the future and I’m also a little bit of a nerd about the psychology of the process.”
Holmes will likely expand more on these thoughts in his introductory press conference — which is on the schedule, and Lions Wire will be there to cover it.