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Brad Holmes has been the general manager of the Detroit Lions since 2021 and has helped them build a team in contention to win a Super Bowl this season – but his career journey is remarkable.
Detroit Lions’ mastermind was previously working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car before his major break in building a Super Bowl contending franchise.
The 2023 season has been an epic one for the Detroit Lions as they bagged their first playoff win since 1991 on Wild Card Weekend, completing their turnaround from one of the worst teams in the NFL to one of the best
Securing the NFC North Division for the first time since 1993, the Lions triumphed over the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 14, to book their place in the Divisional Round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Although head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson have received a lot of praise for this season’s success, great credit also goes to the general manager Brad Holmes.
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Aged 44, Hol,es moved to the Lions from the LA Rams in 2021 and played a crucial role in their Super Bowl victory the following year. But being a general manager was merely a dream for Holmes some years ago, having begun his career working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car post his graduation in journalism from North Carolina AandT.
Holmes’s journey to becoming the Lions manager is truly inspiring. Despite earning a communications degree, it was football that lit up his passion, having played as a linebacker for four seasons.
Though he couldn’t break into professional sports, Holmes remained determined to work in the field somehow and wound up in the rental car business while hunting for entry-level jobs. “I moved back home and I was renting cars for Enterprise Rent-A-Car,” Holmes has confirmed to an NFL reporter.
“An opportunity came about with the Atlanta Hawks. I could only work 40 hours a week with the Atlanta Hawks. It was a media relations training position. Enterprise allowed me to work part-time at the Atlanta airport. And then I go to the Atlanta airport and I would just rent cars so probably about 11 o’clock at night.”
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In 2002, Holmes began working with the Hawks, where his boss tried to connect him with NFL directors. “My boss at the time was the president of communications for basketball (Hawks), and he said ‘Look man, a lot of these PR directors from the NFL come to the (NBA) All-Star game so I can introduce you to come of them.'”
“So I met Duane Lewis and we did a kind of lunch interview and he offered me a PR internship. I just packed a U-Haul and drove to St Louis… then for a shot to be a scouting intern.” After nine years as a scout with the St Louis Rams (before their relocation to Los Angles), Holmes was promoted to director of college scouting in 2013.
Holmes played a key role in the Rams acquiring Aaron Donald, Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Cooper Kupp, Pharoh Cooper, and Cory Littleton. His efforts were recognised when he was named executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Lions in 2021.
The first big move he made was swapping Matthew Stafford for Goff as quarterback and later promoted Johnson to offensive coordinator from passing game coordinator. Holmes faced some flak before this season for his choices in the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Lions picked tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Despite the criticism, they’ve been brilliant this season and head coach Campbell didn’t forget to thank Holmes in a press conference after making it to the playoffs.
“I’m just going to bring it back to Brad Holmes. It’s a hell of a job by him once again,” Campbell said. “He took A lot of criticism for those two picks. But they look like they are okay. I’m glad we got ’em.”
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to webhomepage@mirror.co.uk
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