Tag: Brad Holmes

Sheila Ford Hamp: ‘I would never meddle’ with Brad Holmes or Dan Campbell

The Lions owner opened up about the long-term vision and her happiness with Holmes and Campbell

Detroit Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp gave a rare interview this week. In her conversation with Lions in-house reporter Dannie Rogers, Hamp made it clear she’s pleased with the direction of the team and the hires of GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell.

One of the things Hamp stressed was adhesion to the long-term plan and vision shared by the front office and the coaching staff. That includes resisting temptation to chase after big-name free agents at this stage of the franchise overhaul.

“Sticking to the plan is often hard,” the owner said. “You have the temptation to go, ‘Oh, let’s go out and get this player’ or ‘Let’s do that.’ Well, that’s just not the way we want to build things. We want to build things with a solid foundation for the future so that we are consistently a terrific team.”

She also made it clear she will not interfere or intervene in the decision-making process. Hamp is engaged and actively assisting, but not interested in doing the job for Holmes or Campbell.

“I see my role evolving and changing in that I think we’ve got a great coach,” Hamp stated. “I think we’ve got a terrific general manager. I want to know and be involved with them and their thinking and seeing how they work, and then you let them do their work. But I have every confidence in them, and I would never meddle. You’ve set a vision.”

It’s a good interview to get a deeper feel for Hamp and her style as the Lions’ owner.

Lions GM Brad Holmes happy the Rams recognized his contributions to their Super Bowl win

Lions GM Brad Holmes is happy the Rams recognized his contributions to their Super Bowl win

In advance of his podium appearance at the 2022 NFL scouting combine on Tuesday, Lions general manager Brad Holmes made a stop with the Good Morning Football crew on the NFL Network. In his conversation, Holmes talked about his feelings on the Rams winning the Super Bowl.

Holmes, of course, came to Detroit from the Rams after almost 20 years with the franchise. He was the Rams’ director of collegiate scouting from 2013-2020 and helped identify several of the prospects who helped lead the Rams to the world championship.

The Rams graciously acknowledged Holmes’ contributions. He related a text from within the Rams organization,

“Hey, you’re a part of this,” Holmes said the text stated. “They didn’t have to say that but that was really cool for them to say.”

Among the players Holmes helped land with his scouting eyes in Los Angeles, the two biggest are DT Aaron Donald and WR Cooper Kupp. The Rams are correct–Holmes does deserve some credit for helping them win Super Bowl LVI even though he’s now with Detroit.

[listicle id=74205]

Brad Holmes appreciates Rams giving him some credit for their Super Bowl win

Brad Holmes congratulated some members of the Rams on their Super Bowl win, but they reminded him that he’s “part of this too”

When members of the Los Angeles Rams say that it took everyone within the organization to secure a Super Bowl victory, they truly mean it. Whether it was someone that was with the franchise five years ago or the equipment manager, they played a part in the team being able to win their first Super Bowl since the 1999 season.

Brad Holmes, who was with the Rams for years before becoming the general manager of the Detroit Lions in 2021, revealed that members of the Rams gave him credit for his contributions to the organization winning a Super Bowl – even though he wasn’t on the team last year.

Holmes began his career in the NFL as a scouting assistant with the St. Louis Rams in 2003. Over the years, Holmes worked his way up within the front office and was the director of college scouting for the Rams from 2013 to 2020.

As the director of college scouting, Holmes helped shape the current roster of the Rams. With Los Angeles taking an aggressive approach with their roster building, Holmes was sometimes left limited in the prospects he could scout.

Despite the limitations he sometimes had, Holmes continued to do a splendid job in helping the Rams scout the right prospects. Without Holmes, there’s a chance that Los Angeles doesn’t currently have the All-Pro duo of Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp. Or Tyler Higbee, David Edwards, Rob Havenstein, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Jordan Fuller and the countless other key contributors who were drafted by L.A.

Upon Holmes accepting the job with the Lions, he also helped manufacture a trade that sent Matthew Stafford to the Rams. So whether he sported the colors of the Rams this past season or not, it’s clear that Holmes deserves partial credit for the franchise earning their second Super Bowl.

[listicle id=666870]

5 questions for Lions GM Brad Holmes at the scouting combine

Five questions I hope Lions GM Brad Holmes gets asked and answers honestly on Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes will meet with the media at the 2022 NFL scouting combine on Tuesday afternoon. It will be the last chance in a public forum for media, both local and national, to ask questions to Holmes prior to both free agency and the upcoming draft.

We get 15 minutes of podium time with Holmes, who spontaneously chooses which reporters he responds to as several of us toss questions his way at the immediate conclusion of the prior inquisition. Here are five questions I hope Holmes gets asked and answers honestly.

Lions 2021 draft class earned one of the NFC’s best grades from NFL.com

GM Brad Holmes earned one of just two A-level grades for the 16 NFC teams in the 2021 NFL draft

For being new at the job, Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes did pretty darn well in his first crack at the NFL draft. Holmes landed one of the top-graded draft classes in the breakdown from NFL.com analysts, and the best among the four NFC North competitors.

The Lions draft class of 2021, headlined by first-round pick Penei Sewell, earned an A-minus from NFL.com analyst Gennaro Filice. Sewell, third-round nose tackle Alim McNeill and fourth-round wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown highlight the impressive haul. It earned the Lions one of just two A-level grades in the entire NFC, with the Dallas Cowboys also matching the A-minus for Detroit.

Happily, Filice included the undrafted free agent class in his analysis. Holmes found several keepers, as noted,

And Holmes really did some fine work in the undrafted free-agent market, with a half dozen players providing Year 1 contributions. The two most notable names: Jacobs, who was the team’s best cornerback before suffering an ACL tear in December, and Patterson, who settled the kicker position by converting 13 of 14 field goal attempts over the final seven weeks of the season.

It’s a good and fair review of Holmes’ first class. Hopefully it will continue to grow into something bigger and better for the Lions.

Lions president Rod Wood: ‘Right people in place’ to create ‘sustained success in Detroit’

Fans who have seen and heard this before have earned the right to be skeptical. Or, to quote the band Rush, “Show me don’t tell me.”

In a letter to Detroit Lions season ticketholders, team president Rod Wood revealed that not only will the team not raise ticket prices, it will actually lower the cost for nearly 20 percent of the Ford field seats. Wood also spoke the truth about the 3-13-1 record, the second-worst in the NFL in 2021.

“As we prepare for the 2022-23 season, I want to acknowledge where we are as an organization,” Wood wrote. “We understand that our results last season weren’t good enough and I speak for everyone at the Lions when I tell you that we are committed to being better on and off the field.”

Wood spoke for the organization in showing enthusiastic support behind GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. He also acknowledged that the unsavory 2021 season was indeed viewed internally as a necessary step to establish a new culture.

“The last year has confirmed for the entire organization that we have the right people in place to achieve our goal of creating sustained success in Detroit,” the letter explained. “The work that Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell have done to create a plan for the future of this team, is evident every day in our building. The work we did this year to establish a culture of collaboration, grit and resilience will serve as a foundation for where we are headed.”

Given the league-high injury impact the Lions suffered through in 2021 and the Holmes-Campbell gameplan to rely on rookies and unproven talents instead of signing veterans to temporarily fill holes, it helps put some of the losing in perspective. However, fans who have seen and heard previous iterations of Wood’s optimistic statements fall flat have earned the right to be skeptical. Or, to quote the band Rush, “Show me don’t tell me.”

Brad Holmes ‘always open’ to potential draft pick trades

Lions GM Brad Holmes ‘always open’ to potential draft pick trades

For all the debate about which player the Detroit Lions should select with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, there is another option. GM Brad Holmes could try and trade the pick to acquire additional assets to help rebuild the Lions.

That’s an option Holmes would definitely be willing to explore. While at the Senior Bowl this week with his Lions running the American team, Holmes indicated he was open to

“I’m always open for whatever,” Holmes told Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network from Mobile. “We’re still in the early stages of it, we’ve got a good feel of the class, we’re at a much better place at this stage of the process than last year. But, still, we’ve got a lot more work to do. But, I’m never scared to move around, so we’re definitely open for business, always.”

The Lions hold two first-round picks, the No. 2 overall as well as the pick from the Los Angeles Rams, which will be either No. 31 or 32. Detroit also holds the No. 34 overall pick. For now anyway…

Lions GM Brad Holmes ‘not surprised’ at the Rams success with Matthew Stafford

Lions GM Brad Holmes ‘not surprised’ at the Rams success with Matthew Stafford one year after the trade from Detroit

On the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes expressed no regret about engineering the trade of the long-time Lions QB. In a quick press briefing to kick off the Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Alabama, Holmes made it clear that keeping Stafford in Detroit was never an option for him.

“Well, he asked for a trade,” a bemused Holmes responded. “He didn’t — he asked for a trade. And we made it work out for both sides.”

Holmes kept it very matter-of-factual in tone as he continued,

“Stafford is a good player and the Rams are a good team and it worked out for them. It gave us compensation that can help us along the way. I’m not surprised by their success.”

He shouldn’t be. Holmes was the Rams’ director of collegiate scouting for several years and helped identify and draft the talent that has proven Super Bowl-worthy in Los Angeles.

Holmes spoke more about the respect he has for the leadership and the accomplishment of the Rams, noting that it was the culmination of years of building to this point. Stafford helped lead the Rams to the NFC Championship and a Super Bowl berth with a comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Podcast: Senior Bowl weigh-in recap, Brad Holmes press conference notes

The Detroit Lions Podcast: Senior Bowl weigh-in recap and Brad Holmes press conference notes live from Mobile

The Detroit Lions Podcast featuring Lions Wire’s Jeff Risdon is live in Mobile, Alabama for Senior Bowl week. The first day of festivities was quiet on the on-field action but did see Lions GM Brad Holmes give an unscheduled press conference and also the annual weigh-ins for the players competing were released.

Holmes took questions from the Detroit press and covered several issues, from the quarterbacks here on the American team that will be coached by the Lions to the success of Matthew Stafford with the Rams after the trade a year ago. The guys broke down what was important about the comments and why it’s important to not misconstrue Stafford’s situation.

The weigh-ins produced some interesting results. Believe it or not, Bailey Zappe is bigger than Sam Howell and the same size as Malik Willis. The mysterious hand size and abnormally short arms for Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett also get broken down. One of the top CBs in the Senior Bowl also had a rough time under the measuring microscope.

The audio-only version of the show is available from your favorite podcast provider.

Brad Holmes happy with ‘great’ crop of QBs at the Senior Bowl

Lions GM Brad Holmes happy with ‘great’ crop of QBs at the Senior Bowl

Lions general manager Brad Holmes welcomed the Detroit media to Mobile on Monday in advance of this week’s Senior Bowl. Holmes arrived in time to give a quick press conference to kick off the week.

Among the several topics Holmes hit upon: the quarterbacks here for the Senior Bowl, specifically the three on the American roster his Lions will coach this week: Sam Howell, Malik Willis and Bailey Zappe. Holmes likes what he’s seen from all three.

“The crop that came down here, it’s a great, especially on the American roster,” Holmes said Monday afternoon. “Credit to (Senior Bowl exec director) Jim Nagy for getting those top guys to come to the game. They’re all different, they all offer different flavors and capabilities.”

Holmes didn’t go into much depth on any of the players other than to cite his liking of the adversity and situation each of the trio brings with them to Mobile.

“They’ve all kind of battled some kind of adversity and I thought that was kinda cool,” Holmes said. “You’ve got Howell, he lost a lot of skill (players — 4 to the NFL) in the pass offense. He’s got kind of a new cast he’s working with. And you’ve got Willis that had the transfer (from Auburn to Liberty), and he had to go to a different level and produce.”

So what is Holmes looking for this week, and in a quarterback in general?

“Every team is looking for something different. I always say all 32 teams have 32 different boards. They have different ways that they evaluate each position. But I think this week, in particular for all of those quarterbacks of this game, it’s going to be big for them.”

One of the things we’ve learned about Holmes in his first year in Detroit: he’s not just going to give away what he’s thinking about a specific player or situation until it’s finalized. He’s learned well from senior assistant John Dorsey, who was notoriously secretive during his time as the GM of the Cleveland Browns.