LIONS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER BRAD HOLMES END OF SEASON PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTE SHEET
January 8, 2026
Opening Statement: “Just first off, want to thank all the players for all their hard work, all their efforts, the sacrifice, everything they put into it. I tip my hat with those guys, not only during the season but preparing to get ready for the season. So, the utmost respect and appreciation for all they do. Look, (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) and the entire coaching staff, all their hard work, everything that they put into it. Want to thank our fans, they show up, support as they always do. We’re very thankful for that. It’s just very frustrating that we weren’t able to put together a more consistent product for you guys, but we will get better. But it’s so many – our trainers, performance staff, their care of the players throughout the season. Our personnel department, I thought those guys did a good job identifying some good football players, depth pieces that had to play large roles. Whether it’s the (Lions EDGE Al-Quadin) Muhammad or the (Lions DB Avonte) Maddox, (Lions CB) Rock Ya-Sin, (Lions EDGE Tyrus) Wheat, (Lions DL Tyler) Lacy, (Lions LB Grant) Stuard. Just a lot of guys that ended up having to play big roles. I thought they did a good job of that. But really just the whole org, it’s really too many people to name but it takes everybody to play a role and give full effort for a whole season. But look, bottom line is for our standards, this was a disappointment. When we set out for this journey for this season, it wasn’t to match last year’s record or exceed last year’s record. Doesn’t really matter what the record is, bottom line is if we’re not in the dance and we’re not competing for a championship, it’s a failure. So, it’s a lot of things that we’re going to have to take a long, hard look at. But before I look at anything, I’m looking at myself. So, I have to do a better job. Obviously, haven’t been good enough and look, I’m always going to look inwards. So, early stages but already started to identify some things that I can definitely do better and we’re going to collectively just have to look at everything from top to bottom and just really be honest and just take that long, hard look. And really that’s probably the only light that may come out of this darkness, I would say. When you have these kind of results, you don’t have a choice. You’re forced to look at everything long and hard and truthful and honestly, all in efforts to improve our football team and just kind of re-calibrate this thing to just play more consistent football.”
On what he thinks he got right and wrong in the offseason process of evaluating and building a roster: “In terms of get right, I mean I do think that we brought in some good football players that were able to help. Look, obviously, they weren’t maybe just as a whole, collectively just wasn’t at a consistent level enough. Look, always hindsight you can look back and say, ‘Well, this wasn’t as a consistent level as you would like it to be.’ But bottom line is we’re going to be examining everything, I’m going to be examining everything with those offseason decisions and our processes. But nothing really – nothing’s going to change fundamentally or foundationally in terms of just the type of players that we’re looking for and what our identity is built on. That’s still going to remain the same, but you always have to evolve. You have to evolve and when you don’t get the desired results, you’ve got to just look at everything.”
On if coming short of the playoffs will change his level of aggressive decision making in free agency and at the trade deadline: “That’s hard to say without being faced with the dynamics of who the players are. It’s a lot that goes into those decisions. I guess what I’ll say about that is we work very hard in terms of – well, I guess I’ll back up. I understand if you don’t see a certain amount of let’s call it ‘transactional activity’ and that’s all you don’t see. You don’t see the result. You don’t see another player added, you don’t see the trade, you don’t see the big splash signing. But our work ethic has always been high and a lot of times – really all the time – is you have to put so much work into making sure that you don’t make a mistake. Really the easier thing to do is to see a name of interest that you’ve heard of, you think’s been a good football player and then you just make the call, make the move. And then you just didn’t really put in all the time and effort to find out, ‘Well, why is this player even available?’ Or ‘Why is this player not being signed back?’ So, it’s a lot of work that goes into it. So, that’s not going to change. But I don’t want to sit here and say that just more activity is going to be the answer. Honestly, a lot of the things that we’ll look at and a lot of the changes and tweaks and adjustments that we will make probably won’t come with a headline. But that’s not to say that we won’t do something that’s in that ‘splash’ category. But I don’t think it’s any – it’s not indicative of a lack of effort, work ethic. Look, I think somebody – one of you all called me at the trade deadline and asked me, ‘Did you talk to anybody?’ And I just kind of – I wasn’t offended but I think my response was, ‘Well, why are you asking me now? Because it’s an NFL calendar item with a title on it. You didn’t ask me about if I talked to anybody early November or October or September or August or in June or in May.’ The roster building thing and engaging in talks with teams, that’s year-round. But I totally understand that that’s not public information and you can only just go off of what’s out there. But there’s a lot of work. So, the work ethic’s not going to change, but we’ll still be looking at everything.”
On if he wishes the team did anything differently to prepare for former Lions C Frank Ragnow’s retirement: “Yeah, well look, a player of Frank’s caliber – look, you haven’t seen a Frank Ragnow since Frank Ragnow. So, never would have thought that you could immediately just replace him and just hit the ground running. I think we did the best we could with everything that we were trying to do from a roster standpoint. But look, the offensive line in general as a whole, it hasn’t been ignored in terms of – I know we drafted in ’21 and then ’22 we didn’t but ’23 we went late. But you’d be surprised about the moves that we tried to do that we could not get done that involved offensive linemen whether that be Draft or free agency. But no, it hadn’t been ignored, we tried to do the best we can. I was excited about the youth injection that we did go with. I think it was necessary. But I believe I mentioned after we acquired those players that there’s going to have to be some patience, there’s going to be some things that those young guys hadn’t seen before. I do think that those young players will get better. But just the offensive line as a whole, whether it’s the interiors or the tackle, that’s something that’s going to continue to see we’re going to have to be urgent in terms of adding to.”
On what lessons can be learned from former Lions C Frank Ragnow’s later retirement last year that could apply to the situation of Lions T Taylor Decker considering retirement and if it changes how they approach offseason planning: “Oh, well yeah. I mean if it happens again – like I was saying, it’s never been ignored. You know it’s going to come at some point. As good of let’s call it more veteran offensive line that we’ve had in the past that has been comprised of a lot of good players and at one point four first-round picks, it’s never been ignored. But also, you just can’t reach and just make a move just to make a move. You can reach for a tackle or just make a move for a tackle and that player’s just not as good enough of a replacement. But no, that’s definitely – I’m not sure what Decker’s going to decide to do. But that’s – not only will it have to be urgent this offseason, but it’s been urgent in the past. And look, we’ve drafted. With two years ago, we drafted (Lions OL Giovanni) Manu as more of a developmental guy thinking that he’s going to have some years to take some steps forward. But it would be irresponsible for us to just go into it thinking that, ‘Well, we drafted a developmental player a couple of years ago. He’s going to be the guy.’ And I don’t think – I could be wrong, but I don’t think that we’ve ever kind of gone into an offseason with a question mark or a hole and we didn’t attack that position with urgency. But sometimes it just doesn’t work out as well as we want it to.”
On when in the offseason last year he learned of former Lions C Frank Ragnow’s retirement: “It was after the Draft. It was – that was when he officially told us that, ‘I’m not going to do it.’ I can’t remember, it may have been some point in late May or something like that. But that’s when he gave us the final stuff – now, not saying that the thoughts weren’t swirling. I’m not saying that there were no breadcrumbs or anything like that. And even with breadcrumbs of it but not knowing exactly what he was going to do, again it was something that we knew that we needed to prepare for because we didn’t know which way it was going to tip.”
On if the team has maintained contact with former Lions C Frank Ragnow since his failed physical or if there is any chance that he gets healthy and attempts another comeback for next season: “No. After that whole thing, we just kind of went our separate ways. I’m sure a lot of the guys still keep contact with him. But no, nothing concrete about seeing if he wants to give it a go again.”
On if the team is operating on a timeline and why it was the right time to move on from former Lions Offensive Coordinator John Morton and how important it is to get the right person in that position: “Look, there’s – in this business and these chairs you have to make some really tough decisions. And look, Johnny did a lot of good things this time around, the first time around for us. So, appreciate all of his efforts and everything that he put into it. But look, there is a time where you just have to just make a decision, especially when candidates are becoming available. You have to just make the tough decision to move forward and move on. So, we didn’t have a pre-determined date in mind or anything like that. It’s just kind of after some discussions, just felt that it’s time to just move on and start fresh.”
On what the priorities are for the team’s next offensive coordinator: “I mean it’s a lot. But I mean there has to be leadership, there has to be detail-oriented, there’s got to be command of the room. You just have to be able to know that there’s somebody that’s going to be able to dot every ‘I,’ cross every ‘T’ and make sure that nothing is compromised from a detail standpoint, from a standards standpoint from the start of the game-planning period all the way ‘till the end of the week. And so, we’re just looking for that type of person, whether the person has previous experience calling plays or not. I’ve been around previous coaches that have not done it and did it and had a lot of success with it. So, I do think a lot of it is just you’ve got to just get in front of them, hear them out, spend some time with them and kind of hear their ideas, hear their philosophy, do a lot of vetting – as much vetting as you can – and just make the decision. But I think when you go through the process of getting in front of them, when you know, you know.”
On if they will be looking outside of the organization for the next offensive coordinator: “Yeah, absolutely. We’re looking at everything.”
On if he thinks he needs to act more aggressively in certain areas of player acquisition: “Well, I don’t think it was a lack of effort. In terms of being aggressive, again like I was saying earlier – I may have been telling you that – there are so many things that we tried to do that just can’t do. Like you mentioned the Draft, I think I may have said it after the Draft, this past draft that yeah you might see just the one or two or three actual Draft trades that were their own record, they were consummated, they were done. But the attempts and the things that we tried to do, that’s not public information. So, just because you’re trying to be aggressive and you’re trying to trade way up, that doesn’t mean that that team wants to trade way back like how we’ve been picking in the past. We’re picking a little bit higher this year. You don’t want to be in that position – but, it’s the same thing with the free agency standpoint or trades. You can call about a player, but he’s probably a really good player that that team doesn’t want to part ways with. So, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get him. I’m not trying to not answer your question, but I don’t think that we’ve not tried to be aggressive or just being aggressive just to say we’re going to be aggressive. Usually when those kinds of moves happen, usually there is a deficiency that’s clear and that team needs to act on that. And when we’ve had deficiencies, we’ve tried to act on things. Some of them just didn’t come together, but we don’t want to settle or reach. If we try to do the big trade or the big thing that doesn’t come about, then we’re not just going to say, ‘Well is this another player that we’re kind of warm on that we can get?’ I’m not sure how much it’s going to help any more but it’ll look like we’re doing something, so we’ll do it. I don’t think that that’s responsible either, but it just takes two. But it’s not a lack of action being taken on our part.”
On how he views the center position going forward: “Yeah, look I think all of those are fair questions. Look, a lot of the – I’m not trying to dodge your questions, but we don’t have all the answers right now. And I have full confidence to say that we don’t have all the answers right now. And actually if we did have all the answers right now, you should actually be concerned because we have not taken the necessary time to do the necessary deep-dive analysis into our roster, our operations, everything from top to bottom like we are going to do. Again, there’s some infancy stages, things that we’ve already started to look at that we’ll just keep to ourselves. But obviously (Lions OL) Tate (Ratledge) is obviously an option, for sure. He’s done it before – he did it in OTAs, didn’t think that he was a fish out of water. And then all of the reps that he’s logged this year, just all the rookie snaps. He may have played the most snaps out of any rookie offensive linemen this year. So, whether he continues at guard or center, we know that he’s an option. But yeah, we’re definitely going to have to continue to look for one, whether it be free agency or the Draft or a trade.”
On how ready he feels Lions OL Giovanni Manu is to compete for the tackle position if Lions T Taylor Decker retires: “Manu, he’s taken steps. I’m not going to sit here and say that we feel convicted that he’s ready to be a major contributor. We hope that he is. We’re just going to have to wait to see in terms of when we get started in the offseason program, how he comes back in the OTAs – and look, as always, he’s going to have to win a job. He’s going to have to beat somebody out. As much as we’re going to surround resources around him, he’s going to have to do his part, too, to make sure he’s doing everything necessary to be as good of a football player that he can be.”
On how he would grade himself this season: “I mean whatever’s a failure, yeah, I guess ‘F.’ That’s fair. I’m not trying to copy what (Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell) he said, but it was either good enough or not good enough, and it’s not good enough. So, if it’s a pass, we’re still playing right now and competing for a championship or not. If we’re not, then fail. So, that’s where I put it. But I’m not going to get into the, ‘D-minus.’”
On what he thinks was the biggest failure for this season: “Just that we weren’t able to play – well, where we’re at right now. I’m here talking to you guys. Not saying that I don’t like talking to you guys, but you guys know what I’m saying. It’s over, and football’s still being played. That is the biggest failure, and that’s what it’s going to be for our standard. Look, in 2021, when we first were starting out and were trying to lay the foundation, us not being in the postseason but we made some strides toward the end provided a little bit of hope, a little bit of optimism. For where we’re at now, oh absolutely, the biggest failure.”
On if he can share the areas of improvement that he has identified: “I’ll keep those to myself, just from a competitive, strategic advantage. But trust me, it’s being looked at. I don’t know what you all believe or think, but I’ve always been big on self-assessment. If something is not working, OK, what could you have done better to make it work? Or if something didn’t work, and you’ve got to look back and really take a long, hard look, like how did I mess this up, or what could I have done better in this area, or could I have made a different decision? It’s a lot of different things, but I’m always going to start with myself first. After every single loss, that’s the first thing that I‘m looking at. I’m not looking at, ‘Oh, this happened, this ball didn’t bounce this way, this, that.’ No, I’m like, ‘Man, are these players performing well enough?’ And if they’re not, that falls on me, and I have to get better. That’s how I’m always going to look at it.”
On what can be done to improve the defense’s level of play down the stretch: “Obviously, look, when you lose some impact players as we did, you’re going to have some hurdles. I do think some guys came in and stepped up, but a lot of those guys, we brought in to be quality depth and they had to play larger roles and be starters. I think a lot of it, the secondary injuries, that equated to more of the explosive plays in the pass game. But late in the season, some of the run defense stuff, I just think that was uncharacteristic. We’ve normally been relatively very good in run defense and it just was not clicking, it just was not consistent. But again, like I said at the top, we are going to look at everything. I’m always going to look at players first, but I’m sure me and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) are going to look at players, scheme, the whole thing.”
On how the season changed the big picture view of how close he thinks the team is to reaching the Super Bowl: “I don’t think that we’re that far off. I personally don’t. We have a lot of good players. We have a lot of good young, ascending players. We have a really good quarterback, we have the right coach. I do think that we’re very close. And hey, look, maybe that is some of the things that – maybe that’s one of the items that needs to be looked back on is thinking that you are so close and so then now you start changing some things because you only need this piece and you only need that piece. And it’s like, ‘No. Uh-uh.’ Who’s the best player to fit for what we’re trying to do that has gotten us to have the expectations that we have as a football team right now. So, again, we’ll be looking at everything but I do not think that this is a deep surgery, overhaul. I don’t think that. But obviously, there needs to be some adjustments made, for sure.”
On how big of a priority it is to re-sign the players he drafted: “It is a priority because they’re really good players. And that’s – look, when me and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) first started, we said we were going to take the path of Draft developing and sign our own. And I do think that that has worked so far in terms of getting us to this point. So, yeah, those guys are priorities because they’re really good players. They’re really good players, they’re great in the locker room, they represent everything that we’re about. But yeah, so I would say that those are all priorities. We’re just kind of – we don’t have a decision on timeline yet, but yeah definitely both priorities.”
On if Lions DB Brian Branch and Lions TE Sam LaPorta being injured frees up more money to use early in the offseason: “Yeah, that’s fair to ask. I do think that the priorities for those players have not changed, but obviously more medical information has to be gathered. But we know who they are, we know what kind of players they are. But in terms of them suffering some season-ending injuries and the decisions that we’ve got to make off of that, there’s just a lot more information that we’re going to need to get which we will get. That’s not going to be forgotten about. So, it’s a little bit too early to say that because of those injuries happening that that’s freed up to get other guys.”
On if money could be reallocated to free agency signings this offseason to address a position that he thinks is needed instead of re-signing eligible drafted players in the fall: “Yeah, but there are other players that are not injured that are eligible as well – and then you have just normal free agency. So, the money’s the money, whether you want to spend it in April or if you want to spend it in August. That’s just what you have, especially when it comes – but now there’s things that we’re still waiting on too. Like let’s see how much this cap number grows or adjusts and all that kind of stuff. So, it’s just a lot of information that we’re still waiting on to see to make those decisions.”
On if the team has lost some of its gritty mentality and edge from the past few years that allowed them to get to this point because of the change in the level of continuity and stability on the roster: “Oh, yeah, I think that’s a fair question. No, look, those guys have gotten to this point because they are really gritty players. I think it’s more discipline on our part to make sure that we’re adding that and that we don’t get complacent or we don’t kind of say, ‘Oh, well, we have all these stars that we’ve rewarded and they’re really good players. They earned their rewards because they are gritty players and that they are fits and that they have performed at a high level.’ But that’s part of just staying disciplined in our approach. And so, that’s something else that definitely want to make sure that we’ve got to take a look at and make sure that we’re staying disciplined because in human nature I think you can lose sight of it if you’re not careful. But that’s definitely something that I know is on the top of my mind is just that we have to keep injecting that type of player because that’s how we got to this point.”
On how adding more competition to the roster this offseason affects the calculus of drafting developmental prospects: “Look, as long as they’re made up of the right kind of stuff, that’s really – I think that’s the main thing that matters. If they have the – yeah, there’s a baseline of talent that you have to have for this League, but they have to have the right temperament, the right intangible qualities, the right football character regardless if that’s a higher floor player, if that’s a developmental player. If someone’s going to be highly competitive to add whether it’s a young guy then players like that, they can add some discomfort, and I think that’s necessary from a competition standpoint. So, it’s not really going to change the calculus in terms of, do we take a guy that’s a little more developmental? It could be – we took a developmental player that is about as higher motored as it can get, and he can frustrate a lot of players in practice because of that and I think that’s a good thing. We just need to make sure they’re made up of the right stuff. I’m more – I have my antennas peaked up that we don’t go the opposite and start looking for this more talented player that may not have the other stuff, and so that’s going to be a focal point that we’re going to have to have going forward.”
On the level of concern with Lions S Kerby Joseph’s knee injury and if there is worry about him being able to play out his extension: “Kerby really wanted to be out there. Kerby, he earned that extension. I knew how excited he was to – I feel like he’s already shown the world the type of player he is, but now that he got the extension I feel like he really wanted to show the world why he got that extension. Obviously, he had some things that he had to deal with physically. What became hard was you’re trying to urgently get healthy enough to play during the season, and that’s really the reason why we waited so long to put him on IR because he was making strides of progress during the season where, ‘Maybe another week, maybe in two weeks.’ When he had that last recent setback late – bottom line, I’m just glad Kerby’s in a spot now where he’s not urgently trying to get healthy. He’s going to have the necessary time to get the rehab and treatment that he needs to get as healthy as he can.”
On if there was any foresight about an injury in Lions S Kerby Joseph’s physical that could have affected his contract extension: “Oh no, it’s just – it’s one of those things that just popped up on us. If we – it just happened. It just happened. It sucks when it happens like that, but it does so all we can do is just adjust and see how healthy he can get. I know he is and just move forward. I wouldn’t call it a ‘miss’ as if we knew that and then we did that.”
On if they should have found Lions S Kerby Joseph’s injury during his physical prior to signing him to a contract extension: “I mean in a perfect world yeah that would have been nice, but in terms of passing exit physicals and all that kind of stuff, we felt that we had the information and we signed him to an extension and this happened. I mean look, early in training camp when he was going out there, it looked like he was Kerby and then it started to go down from there. But he did everything he could, he was still a productive player in the games that he was out there from a ball production standpoint, which – I didn’t put a number on the percentage that he was from a health standpoint, but the main goal is just get him healthy.”
On what he learned from his approach at the EDGE position last year that can help him find a guy to play opposite Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson next season: “Yeah, I mean it would be the same approach that we took last year in terms of the position wasn’t ignored in the Draft, it just didn’t come together like how we would have liked it to be from a Draft standpoint. But you know (Lions EDGE Al-Quadin) Muhammad played really well. I’m not sure many other teams had an 11-sack and a 14.5-sack guy. I thought the rush was good, but I understand he’s a free agent. (Lions EDGE Marcus) Davenport is a free agent, so we’re definitely going to have to look and replenish opposite of Hutch for sure.”
On how the lack of third-round Draft picks affected what they could do in trade conversations: “Yeah, you have to always be at peace with that when you actually decide to part ways with that. Even when you’re in April in the Draft and you’re about to part ways with that type of compensation, you have to know that it’s gone and you’re not going to have a third-round pick at the trade deadline. You just have to understand that. I do think there are other creative ways that you can do to supplement a third-round pick when it comes to trades with future picks, players being involved and all of that. But that’s one that you can’t have regret or look back on and you just have to be at peace when you part ways with that compensation. But very happy with the growth that (Lions WR Isaac) TeSlaa took.”
On if he expects Lions RB David Montgomery to be with the team next year: “Yeah look, obviously I know that it was a tough year for him in terms of the lack of touches. I’m not going to say that we went into it planning it to be that way. I think he handled it like a pro. Look, those are discussions that we’re going to have to have a lot more in depth in terms of what is the best plan for him going forward, is it somewhere else or whatever the case be. Just really appreciate everything that he has done for us, if it does end up going that way. I hope it doesn’t because we love David Montgomery. He’s a good football player and wish that we would’ve been able to get more utilization from him. I know (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) feels the same way. But those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player. He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
On if he has had discussions with Lions Principal Owner and Chair Sheila Ford Hamp and if she has expressed more urgency to him to reach the Super Bowl: “Yeah, we have had conversations with her. I’ll keep that privately but always the hope is to get to a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl. That’s not changed going forward this year. That’s obviously been the goal the past couple years, so that still remains. It’s not only – I don’t even need to hear that from her, I’m the one that – that’s on my mind constantly is having the ability to put that trophy in her hands. I don’t sleep well at night unless that happens, and she’s aware of that. But yeah, we’ve had conversations. The great thing about her is she’s always consistent. But yeah, we’ll just keep the details private.”
On how pressing the need at safety feels this offseason with uncertainty about the future of Lions DB Brian Branch and Lions S Kerby Joseph due to injuries: “Yeah, it’s a fair question because of the obvious. Again, we’re just going to need to get more information from where those players are at. That’s the hard part of when you make certain decisions when you’re dealing with players when it comes to medical is that at the end of the day, you just see the final result. Is the player available or not? But we get so much updates on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, in terms of the progression that those players are making. That informs the decisions that we make. It’s a little early to say, but that position is just another position on the roster so it’s not going to be ignored. We always want to build the most quality depth that we can, so whether it’s safety, I feel like we did. Even expecting both of those players to be available this year, I felt like we took about as aggressive approach as we could building depth. But again, it comes down to what’s available truly, what teams are willing to do. But I do think the guys stepped up, I did. I think that – I think we were able to claim a young (Lions S) Thomas Harper that’s going to be able to be – he’s played a lot obviously this year. That wasn’t the plan, but he did and did an admirable job. We know that he can play. He can be a depth role if needed, he can play special teams. I thought (Lions DB) Avonte Maddox stepped up when he had to. I thought (Lions S) Daniel Thomas stepped up when he had to. I thought (Titans S) Erick Hallett, when we had him, he stepped in and did some things. But it’s not going to be ignored just like any other position on the roster.”
