Recapping Holmes: Lions GM remains committed to approach that brought team this far

Allen Park — Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes met with the media on Thursday for his annual session to wrap up the season. Here are the most important things to come out of the nearly half-hour press conference.

Sticking to the plan

Holmes opened with reflections on the season, predictably expressing disappointment after the team fell well short of its Super Bowl aspirations. Regardless, the GM presented a glass-half-full assessment of the team’s body of work in 2024, as well as the future.

“Look, 15 wins, that’s hard to do in a year where you don’t have all of the attrition that we had to deal with to get 15, but on top of all of the attrition that we had to deal with to get — I mean that’s about as difficult as it gets,” Holmes said. “That was a heck of a job by (coach Dan Campbell) and the whole staff, the whole coaching staff. We saw a lot of players make jumps and get better and continue to improve. So, I was happy for those guys and our fans. They still, once again, they showed up and did their part and they upheld their end of the bargain. I wish we could have done more for them.”

Holmes reiterated a philosophy he’s made a focal point of his tenure, refusing to be a prisoner of the moment. He believes in the team’s foundation and won’t overcompensate with rash decisions this offseason. The strategy that got the Lions to this point will remain the strategy.

“Look, it happened,” Holmes said. “You can’t mope a reversal of the unfortunate outcome, so there’s literally nothing else to do but pick yourself up and get back to work. There is nothing else to do, so that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we will do, and the process has already started.

“I just think that we just stay the course and just keep building like we’ve been,” Holmes continued. “I do think that we’re very close. Obviously, I thought that we were very close this year, but nothing is going to alter what our approach has been in terms of trying to continue to improve and keep building.”

Rebuilding the staff

The immediate offseason priority for the franchise will be replenishing its coaching staff, which has been raided in recent days with the departures of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and defensive line coach Terrell Williams.

Filling out that staff primarily falls on coach Dan Campbell. However, during his introductory comments in 2021, the coach made it clear he'd run each potential hire by Holmes and wouldn't bring someone on board the GM didn't sign off on.

Holmes expressed gratitude for the team's departing coaches, noting the Lions were lucky to have them as long as they did. He also echoed Campbell's comments from Monday about the team anticipating the departures.

Asked what he'd like to see with the replacements, Holmes offered a list of traits.

"I think he's going to have to be adaptable, he's going to have to be smart, he's going to have to be able to adjust, make sure that he's putting the players in the best position to succeed," Holmes said. "Those are some of the characteristics that I think are a good culture fit for a coach here. I think that our identity kind of shows, so most coaches that choose to take a position here, same as a player, I think that they know what they're about to walk into in terms of how we play and what our standards are."

Holmes' first significant move as Detroit's GM was trading for quarterback Jared Goff, a player he had scouted and recommended trading up to draft while with the Los Angeles Rams. Four years later, it's easy to point to that decision as a key component to Detroit's turnaround. Goff is coming off his best season and was announced as one of five finalists for the league's MVP award on Thursday.

Still, there's little denying the pairing with Johnson was instrumental to Goff's continued improvement. Holmes was asked if he was concerned about the quarterback's performance sustaining with a new voice leading the offense.

"I think Jared, in particular, that's something that I know is at the forefront of Dan's mind, in terms of what's going to be the best thing for him," Holmes said. "I have faith that everything will be OK. …Obviously, he was very productive with Ben as a coordinator, but he had a lot of prior success before he even got here as well in a completely different system, and I think he's a better quarterback, a more mature quarterback now than he was then when he had early success,

"I don't foresee (a decline)," Holmes said. "Again, I think the guy's in his prime. He's gotten better and better every year. And when I say prime, I think just entering it because he keeps ascending. I think every single year we've been here, the next year has been, 'Man, he's playing at a high level,' and the levels keep improving.

Re-emphasizing the value of depth

Holmes was asked how he processed watching the roster he constructed to win a Super Bowl get ravaged by injuries. The GM intentionally avoided complaining about his fortunes, noting these scenarios drive home his approach to roster-building.

"That's why me and Dan are so heavily concentrated on depth, depth, depth, even when sometimes it's like, 'Now why didn't you sign that most expensive free agent?'" Holmes said. "Well, we're trying to accrue depth because this kind of stuff happens. So, we've kind of stuck true to that. Because I've always thought about that, when the injuries happened, I guess I'm mentally prepared for them a lot better."

If there was any sense of woe, it wasn't for himself but for the players who landed on the shelf.

"From a negative emotions standpoint, I just feel bad for the players," Holmes said. "I feel like the players put so much into it, and a lot of times, it's bad luck. When you look at some of these injuries and how they happened, there were some that were just bizarre."

Holmes also acknowledged the positives from the situation, with the team's personnel department consistently proving they're up to the task of filling the voids and the coaching staff quickly getting those additions ready to contribute.

"What are you going to do about it? It happened," Holmes said. "...You can't pout them back to health. Again, you hate it for the players."

Talking contracts

Holmes was asked about several contract situations. In most instances, he stated the team hadn't engaged in intensive conversations regarding new deals.

The general manager did praise the contributions of two veterans, guard Kevin Zeitler and cornerback Carlton Davis, who are both set to hit the open market in March.

"I thought Zeitler did a good job this year," Holmes said. "It's different when you're changing completely different schemes. Kind of early on, he had to kind of get used to how we were doing things, but once he got adjusted into that, I thought he did a really good job. You know, a player of that age, you just got to have conversations with him. We had conversations on exit day, and then we'll just continue to have dialogue and kind of see where it goes."

Regarding Davis:

"I thought we got very good play from him," Holmes said. "I will be honest, I thought he played better this year than he did the year before, that last year in Tampa. He'll tell you that, too. But I thought we got what we wanted to get. Obviously, unfortunate we had to lose him and be without him, but we're aware of not only Carlton, Zeitler, we're aware of a lot of other guys that are either on expiring contracts that, you know, had good contributions to our team this year, or guys that are worthy for an extension, or in consideration for an extension. No intense action yet, but we're very aware of it."

While Holmes was relatively non-committal regarding those two players, he was more clear about his desire to get a long-term extension done with All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph, who will be entering the final year of his rookie deal next season.

"That's on the docket, in terms of to be looked at and discussed," Holmes said. "We know where he's at, from an eligibility (standpoint). Look, he's an All-Pro player. I don't know how you don't make the Pro Bowl with nine interceptions, whatever that is, but he's an All-Pro player. He's another one that's gotten better and better. He's one that has proved he's a Detroit Lion. He fits, he fits our culture. It's hard to find ballhawk guys that will tackle how he does. I think that's what makes him unique. Again, we haven't had any intense dialogue about that yet, but obviously you want to keep the good players here."

The Lions have been proactive about getting ahead of the market with extensions for their top players. In addition to Joseph, Jameson Williams and Aidan Hutchinson are also eligible for extensions this offseason.

"Again, it's not always in our control," Holmes said. "We might have our plans and processes, but it takes two people to get something done. That's not a negative comment, it's just you don't know that player, that camp, all that kind of stuff is thinking.

Never neglecting a strength

Regardless of what the team decides to do with Zeitler, Holmes has no intention of neglecting the offensive line this or any offseason.

"It's not, you know, oh, it's got to be a future left tackle, or it's a starting guard, or someone you develop behind Frank (Ragnow)," Holmes said. "I think when you start going on those specific avenues, you can kind of ignore something else. I just think you have to get the whole garden watered.

"It's going to be the whole unit," Holmes continued. "That's the engine for us. I don't care how good we ever get on the offensive line, that one right there is too important for not only our team, our quarterback, everything. It's our identity, man. I think just that alone, it's always going to be at the forefront."

Holmes invested in the unit through last year's draft, using two draft picks to add guard Christian Mahogany and offensive tackle Giovanni Manu. The GM expressed healthy optimism for both.

"Mahogany kind of started the OTAs, like, man, he looks like he's — it's not too big for him,” Holmes said. “Just stepped right in and kind of knew what to do, where Manu was the complete opposite. He's like, man, 'I've never had this kind of lingo that I had to remember and snap cadence and all that stuff.' And credit to our coaches.”

Mahogany missed training camp with mono, but Holmes said the lineman picked up right where he left off when he came off the injured list. That's when it became clear he deserved to be a top backup. The GM also said Mahogany is ready to move into the starting lineup if needed.

As for Manu, confirming what you might have read in our feature on the developmental lineman earlier this month, Holmes said the growth from arrival to the end of the season was stark.

"If you watched the film of Gio in OTAs and you watched the film of Gio in practice, I mean, it literally was night and day," Holmes said. "So that's credit to Hank (Fraley) and Steve Oliver and all those guys just working with him. And credit to him because he was conscientious of making sure that he improved. So, excited about both of these guys' futures.

Player has to be right to deal picks

In a question that felt like a direct reference to Maxx Crosby, Holmes was asked if he was prepared to sacrifice draft picks to land a veteran piece that could put the Lions over the hump.

Holmes noted he's already shown a willingness to trade picks for veteran pieces, which is true. He sent a third-rounder to Tampa for Davis and a Day 3 asset to Cleveland for Za'Darius Smith at this year's trade deadline.

Regardless, building through the draft remains the organization's philosophy.

"We had a trade for a veteran pass rusher and spent draft capital for that player," Holmes said. "We're not scared of that. It just has to be the right player. … We've always said we're going to build through the draft. And I think that's why we're in the position we're in from a (Super Bowl-)window standpoint of having the comfort to keep building like we have been."

Regarding the deal for Smith, Holmes said it was one of the most challenging experiences he's had as a GM, but an experience that made him better at the job.

"You can look at all these names of all these starting defensive ends in the NFL, but when you start doing the work, when you start making the calls, that thing shrinks down — from an availability standpoint — that thing shrinks down like this," Holmes said, holding his hands close together. "You start calling these other teams, these other GMs, and they may have four rushers. So, forget the starters. Those guys aren't even available. We're talking about third and fourths (stingers).

"You ask and I can't really disagree with them where they say, 'Look, we've got two plus months of football left and I trade you one and we get another one hurt, then we've only got two,'" Holmes explained. "And I was like, 'I didn't really expect you to be rational and think about it that way.' But it's true. So when we got Za'Darius, he was one of a small handful of guys that were actually available."