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ALLEN PARK – Brad Holmes once worked for Enterprise Rental Car because he couldn’t find a job in the NFL. Then he started working in public relations for the Atlanta Hawks.
In 2003, he finally broke into the NFL – as an intern in the public relations department for the St. Louis Rams.
Now, 18 years later, he’s set to become the next general manager of the Detroit Lions.
Holmes is expected to sign a five-year deal to replace Bob Quinn in Detroit, according to multiple reports. He becomes the new top Lions official after rising through the ranks with the Rams, ended up cracking the scouting department as an intern, and served the past eight years as that team’s college scouting director.
He was the go-to man to land big draft picks as NFL Two-Time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald – after the Lions passed him on to Eric Ebron – 2017 Offensive Player of the Year Todd Gurley and two- Pro Bowl quarterback Jared Goff. This group won an NFC championship in 2017, won a fourth consecutive season this year and just beat the Seahawks 30-20 in a wild card game this weekend. They will travel to Green Bay on Saturday to face the Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs – a round the Lions have not seen since the 1991 season.
Now the Lions are relinquishing their quest for their first playoff win since this season to Holmes. He was chosen from a pool of 12 applicants who interviewed for the role, an exhaustive research that quadrupled the pool that produced Bob Quinn in 2016 and resulted in one of the worst diets in franchise history. Quinn and Matt Patricia were fired after a blowout defeat at Thanksgiving that left the so-called Quinntricia era just 19-23-1.
“I think after going through (the recruiting process) now twice, there are things that I have learned and things that we hope to do better,” said team president Rod Wood recently. . “I think one of the things is adding more people to the process.”
This included on the Lions side, where Wood and owner Shiela Ford Hamp led the research, but made outside voices heard by hiring Chris Spielman as a full-time advisor and part-time consultants as the Hall’s half-runner. of Fame Barry Sanders, former Michigan. State athletic director Mark Hollis and former Cardinals general manager Rod Graves.
The Lions also widened the pool of candidates, interviewing people like Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds, former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, former Texans general manager Rick Smith, former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, the deputy general manager of Saints for professionals. staff Terry Fontenot, Rams College scouting director Brad Holmes, Vikings deputy general manager George Paton, Saints deputy general manager Jeff Ireland and internal candidates Rob Lohman, Lance Newmark and Kyle O’Brien.
Paton, who worked under Spielman’s brother in Minnesota, was the only candidate brought to Allen Park for the first round of interviews and believed to be a favorite. But he agreed to a six-year contract with Denver, and Detroit focused on Holmes.
Holmes was the only candidate brought in for a second interview. The Atlanta Falcons also pursued him intensely, questioning him twice, but he ultimately agreed to take the Detroit job instead.
Football runs in Holmes’ blood. His father, Mel, was a Pittsburgh Steelers guard. His uncle, Luther Bradley, was a Lions first-round pick in 1978. And Brad Holmes continued that tradition, playing defensive tackle at North Carolina A&T.
But his leap into the business side of the game hasn’t been easy. He had such a hard time getting that first job that he spent some time working at Enterprise Rental Car and then doing public relations for the Atlanta Hawks. He did another PR internship with the St. Louis Rams in 2003 before landing a recognition internship for the next draft. His responsibilities included brewing coffee, driving the guys to / from the airport, and making copies.
Less than two decades later, he became the latest in a long line of new general managers tasked with bringing the Detroit Lions back to life after more than six decades of interrupted failure. It’s a daunting task, made even more so by a list that fell apart when the Patriot Way import failed.
The Lions nearly set the franchise record for single-season yards in 2019, then set the record in 2020. They’re two of the three worst defenses in franchise history, two years in a row, and now they don’t. ‘have more than five draft. choice and a reduced cap to meet their considerable needs – none of which even consider looming questions about what to do with quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Kenny Golladay, the latter of which is eligible to become a free agent in March. .
For now, the goal will be to match Holmes with the right head coach. The Lions said they envision a partnership-like relationship between their new GM and their coach, rather than a top-down reporting structure. Holmes’ hiring has been made independent of the head coach, and Sheila Ford Hamp, not Holmes, is expected to pick the next whistle.
Given Holmes’ inexperience – he’s a first-time GM, like all of his Detroit predecessors – it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Lions chasing a seasoned head coach. The most senior candidate the Lions have interviewed is former Bengals Marvin Lewis. Other candidates who have served as head coaches include Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell (formerly interim HC in Miami) and Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell. Detroit has also requested to speak with former Jets head coach Todd Bowles, although that interview has yet to take place.
Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has no head coaching experience but has already landed the first (and only) second interview with Detroit. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh also interviewed for the job.
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