Tag: Detroit Lions front office

Lions’ front office ranked high in recent survey from The Athletic

The Lions front office ranked high in recent survey from The Athletic, cracking the top 5

The Brad Holmes era as general manager of the Detroit Lions has been a very good one to date. The team is strongly considered a Super Bowl contender thanks to Holmes’ ability to shape the roster and work with head coach Dan Campbell.

Holmes and the Lions’ front office earned some flowers in a recent survey done by The Athletic. 40 NFL executives and coaches ranked their top five front offices. Based on the points system used, the Lions were voted as the 5th-best front office.

The poll used a 10-7-5-3-1 scoring system. The Lions did not receive any first-place votes but did end up with 62 total points and appeared on 20 of the 40 ballots.

Holmes, who took over in 2021, helped guide the Lions to one of the best seasons in franchise history last year.

As one general manager put it: “If you asked: Who is the No. 1 GM in the league right now, this minute? It might be him. I love the demeanor, love what he stands for.”

Holmes and Campbell see things through the same lens, which has helped the GM acquire the types of players who will fare well for Campbell. They’ve built a roster that appears tough, selfless and talented.

“Detroit has done a great job of figuring out their style and getting guys who fit that in the draft and free agency” an NFC executive said.
Holmes’ first-round picks include right tackle Penei Sewell, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, wideout Jameson Williams, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell and cornerback Terrion Arnold. The Lions have built one of the best offensive lines in the league and have revitalized quarterback Jared Goff by building around him.

This was hardly a small-scale rebuild for an organization that had one playoff victory in the Super Bowl era before the new regime’s arrival, and Holmes brought a turnaround in a remarkably short time. When building out the roster, Campbell has said he wants players who would have been great teammates during his playing career, and Holmes has delivered.

“Detroit has done a nice job building it in their own image, which is unique to everybody else,” an executive said.

The only teams ranked higher than the Lions were the Ravnes (15 first-place votes), Chiefs (13), 49ers (3) and Eagles (5). The Seahawks, Rams, Steelers and Cowboys also received a first-place vote each.

Lions hire Cardinals analytics manager to replace Brandon Sosna

Lions hire Cardinals analytics manager Charlie Adkins to replace Brandon Sosna in the Detroit front office

Even with the team being largely on the summer break after OTAs and minicamp, the Detroit Lions have made an important addition to the front office.

The Lions are bringing in Charlie Adkins to the front office. Adkins has been the manager of football analytics and research for the Arizona Cardinals.

He will be replacing Brandon Sosna, who left Detroit earlier this offseason to join the Washington Commanders. While Sosna was known primarily for his work on contracts in Detroit, he also did some analytical research work for the Lions as well.

Adkins spent seven years with the Cardinals is a variety of football operations roles.

Commanders hire longtime Lions front office exec Lance Newmark as their assistant GM

Newmark was with the Lions for 26 years in a variety of scouting and personnel-related roles

The Detroit Lions avoided losing coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to the Washington Commanders last week, but the team is still losing a valuable piece to Washington’s new-look organization.

The Commanders announced they’ve hired Lance Newmark as their new assistant general manager. Newmark has been with the Lions for 26 seasons and has served in a variety of roles. Most recently, he was Detroit’s senior director of player personnel.

Newmark joins Washington as the right-hand man for new GM Adam Peters. From the Commanders press release,

Newmark previously oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Lions Football Information and Football Technology departments and served as the liaison between these departments and the Lions Player Personnel function. He played influential roles in both the Lions NFL Draft and NFL Free Agency period processes.

In Washington, Newmark is reunited with one-time Lions GM Martin Mayhew. The Commanders moved Mayhew into a senior personnel advisory role, and he and Newmark will work together under Peters.

Panthers request permission to interview Lions’ Mike Disner for their GM role

Disner is the Lions’ COO and is the primary contract guru, as well as working with the strategy unit

Already looking for a potential new head coach from the Detroit Lions, the Carolina Panthers are now also looking to potentially fill their GM vacancy with someone from Detroit. The Panthers announced they have requested permission from the Lions to interview Mike Disner as their general manager.

Disner is the Lions’ Chief Operating Officer (COO) and has been in that role since 2022. He was the team’s senior VP of football and business administration prior to that promotion, serving two seasons in each capacity for Detroit.

In layman’s terms, Disner runs the team’s salary cap and contract negotiations with both players and coaches. He is also part of the Lions’ personnel strategy and evaluation teams, working with GM Brad Holmes, assistant GM Ray Agnew, special assistant Chris Spielman and others.

Disner is consistently noted as one of the league’s rising young stars, though he’s been in the NFL for over 15 years. The Lions do not have to grant permission to the Panthers, though that’s not a common move.

The Panthers have already asked the Lions for permission to interview OC Ben Johnson for their head coaching vacancy. Johnson interviewed for that position last year before pulling his name from contention.

Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew mentioned as potential GM candidate for the coming offseason

Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew mentioned as potential GM candidate for the coming offseason

While much of the long-term talk about Lions staffers potentially getting bigger and more prominent roles on other teams focuses on the assistant coaches, there is another candidate in the Detroit front office who could attract attention, too.

Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew has a compelling résumé to garner real interest as a potential GM hire in the coming offseason cycle. The veteran has done well as GM Brad Holmes’ right-hand man and primary evaluator of pro talent. Agnew earned a spot in Pro Football Focus’ list of top potential GM candidates in the next hiring cycle.

The 55-year-old Agnew is not the typical candidate, as PFF notes,

Agnew may not be the young upshot executive that teams seem to prefer recently for general manager hires, but his lengthy football career and clear trust from Lions general manager Brad Holmes should go a long way. The Rams built a Super Bowl winner largely with external additions during the time Agnew was the director of pro personnel, and we’ve also seen him now help Holmes build the Lions in a very different manner.

His considerable experience working in personnel evaluation for multiple GMs and organizations are Agnew’s biggest strengths.

Lions promote Brian Hudspeth to Director of College Scouting

Hudspeth was Detroit’s assistant director of collegiate scouting in 2022

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The Detroit Lions have filled a front office vacancy from within the organization. Per Aaron Wilson, the Lions have promoted Brian Hudspeth to the director of collegiate scouting position.

Hudspeth has been the Lions’ assistant director of collegiate scouting for the last year. He first joined Detroit in 2018 as a national scout. Hudspeth started his NFL scouting career with the Atlanta Falcons back in 2001. He’s also had scouting tenures with the Texans and Buccaneers.

He fills the hole left behind by Dave Sears, who left after the season to join the Arizona Cardinals as that team’s assistant GM.

Report: Lions hire Brett Fischer as the new director of player health and performance

Fischer has worked in player performance and training for the Arizona Cardinals

There is a new member of the Detroit Lions training and player development staff. Reports on Super Bowl Sunday indicate the Lions have hired Brett Fischer as the new director of player heath and performance.

The report comes from Fischer himself, via his Instagram account.

“I want say that I am honored and proud to announce that I have been named the new Director of Player Health and Performance for the Detroit Lions,” Fischer concluded after thanking many, including the Arizona Cardinals.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoknhTtPjG6/?igshid=YTgzYjQ4ZTY%3D

Fischer has worked with the Cardinals for the past 15 years, serving as the staff physical therapist through his private consulting firm.

The Lions have an existing director of sports performance, Mike Clark, as part of a five-person player performance team. It is unclear where Fischer will fit into that structure. The Lions organization has yet to confirm the hiring.

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Lions announce 8 front office changes, continue strong culture building

The Detroit Lions announced 8 front office changes and mostly internal promotions which shows the strong culture the Lions are instilling.

Since Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell walked through the door, they have been building an influential culture from top to bottom. One that awards individuals for their continued strong efforts, giving them the platform to take the next step forward in their careers potentially. Today those efforts were awarded as the Lions announced eight front office changes this morning, with only one being an outside hire.

The one hire of strong significance is the promotion of Mike Disner, who was promoted as the Chief Operating Officer. Disner has risen through the ranks in the Lions organization when he was hired in 2019, starting as the Vice President of Football Administration, then Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration when Brad Holmes took over as General Manager.

Disner is widely respected in the Lions organization as he was integral in the hiring of Brad Holmes and brought Holmes to the front office’s attention. He has been a main avenue for Holmes, coming in as a first-time general manager and widely recognized as an up-and-comer in the NFL, and on his continued trajectory, he could find himself running a front office shortly.

The lone outside hire was making the hire of Brandon Sosna official. The Lions are bringing in Sosna from USC and making him the team’s Senior Director of Football Administration. He is another individual making a name for himself as he was named to the Forbes’ “30 Under 30 Sports” list in 2020 as he played as USC’s athletic director Mike Bohn’s right-hand man.

Here are the rest of the front office changes to round out the recent promotions:

  • Lance Newmark from the director of player personnel to the senior director of player personnel.
  • Brian Hudspeth from national scout to assistant director of college scouting.
  • Joe Kelleher from pro scout to assistant director of pro scouting.
  • Ademi Smith from personnel assistant to scout.
  • Gina Newell from director of team operations to senior director of football operations.
  • Jesse Giambra from the coordinator of team operations to manager of team operations/head coach administration.

Report: Lions to hire Brandon Sosna into the Detroit front office

Sosna is expected to be the new Lions senior director of football operations

The Detroit Lions are adding a new executive to the front office. Per a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, the Lions are hiring Brandon Sosna as the new senior director of football operations.

Sosna currently serves as the chief of staff for the USC Trojans football program. From Thamel’s report,

Sosna has operated as the No. 2 to USC athletic director Mike Bohn essentially since Bohn’s hiring late in 2019, including a promotion to executive senior associate athletic director. During that time, Bohn credited Sosna as the architect for the “brilliant” search for Lincoln Riley as head coach.

USC was aggressive in trying to retain Sosna, sources said, but the lure of a career in the NFL trumped anything the school could come up with.

He does have some NFL experience that helps explain the connection to the Lions. Sosna worked in the Cleveland Browns front office in 2017 and 2018 as a salary cap analyst under then-GM John Dorsey, who now serves as a senior assistant in the Lions front office.

Don Muhlbach officially retires, joins the Lions front office

Muhlbach has retired from the NFL and joins the Lions front office as a special assistant

Death, taxes and Don Muhlbach.

The longtime Lions long snapper is back with the organization where he played for 17 seasons. Muhlbach officially retired from the NFL on Friday and rejoined the Lions in a front office capacity.

Muhlbach is now a special assistant to GM Brad Holmes, head coach Dan Campbell and team president Rod Wood. He will assist the Lions leadership in both football and business operations.

Muhlbach released a statement via the team,

“It has been an honor and a privilege to wear the Honolulu Blue and Silver for the past 17 years. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to remain with this organization that has given me so much. I’m excited about this new chapter of my career and to have the ability to continue working towards the goal of bringing a winning culture to Detroit.”

The Lions released Muhlbach this summer after 17 seasons. Only Jason Hanson has played in more Lions games than Muhlbach, who ranks eighth in NFL history for games played with one team at 260.