The new Detroit Lions general manager, Brad Holmes, said he believes defender Matthew Stafford is a “great player” who has many of the intangible characteristics he likes to see in all his players.
Holmes, however, has made no final statement about the future of Stafford, who still has two more years on his contract. The owner, Sheila Ford Hamp, said it would depend on Holmes and his head coach yet to be named.
“What you really appreciate is that the talent was easy to see, but you really appreciate how your intangibles appear in the film,” said Holmes, 41, of Stafford. “How urgent he plays, how competitive he is, how tough he is. But it’s my job to evaluate the entire cast, and through that process, I haven’t had any conversations with Matt or any other player.
“So, you know, I just want to be fair in the process to make sure we fully evaluate it, but obviously, Matt, he’s an excellent football player.”
Much of Holmes’ first press conference on Tuesday focused on how he wants to “retrofit” a list of Lions that finished last at NFC North in each of the past three seasons. Whatever he is trying to bring will be part of a larger process he envisions, something he has seen work well during his nearly two decades with the Rams, while working his way from intern to public relations to scouting director at the college under Les Snead .
Holmes said the first thing he wants to do is meet with the entire squad after the team hires a new coach. That position must be filled by New Orleans Saints assistant coach Dan Campbell, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Team president Rod Wood said that the collaboration of Holmes and the new coach will have a say in the 53-man roster decisions. Holmes, the new coach and vice president of football administration Mike Disner, who will have additional responsibilities within the organization, will report to Wood and Hamp.
Hamp said that as they searched for the technician and general manager simultaneously, they asked GM candidates about who they had in mind as technicians. And they would ask coaching candidates similar questions about general managers. Often, said Hamp, the lists had common names.
Hamp said Holmes talked to some of the remaining candidates after being hired.
It was during these interviews that Holmes “surprised the competition,” said Wood. Hamp said he believes, especially with analytics and technology, what Holmes will bring is “definitely different from what we’ve been doing here.”
Holmes did not want to go into detail, but all of this is the beginning of what Holmes is describing as his process.
“I would say that we are all going to trust the process that will happen,” said Holmes. “It will be a very solid process. It will be a very complete and diligent process, and we will, as I said before, deliver these results to the process. I have always been the one who likes to go through the process and tries to delay my intuition until the end.
“So if we keep the process solid and make the right intuitive decisions in the future, I believe the Lions fan base will be very, very happy with the results they will see.”
Holmes does not see his process as a massive reconstruction. He said his plan is to form a competitive team in 2021, recognizing that there were areas, specifically defensively, where Lions were “definitely going to retrofit”, but he offered no details.
But he said he saw building blocks in a defense that allowed most points and yards in the franchise’s history last season under coach Matt Patricia and defensive coordinator Cory Undlin.
Detroit has cornerback Jeff Okudah, last year’s third overall pick, as well as cornerback Amani Oruwariye, safety Tracy Walker, defensive side Trey Flowers and linebacker Jamie Collins as starters who are due to return next season.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure that the most competitive team is on the field and that it starts right now, this year, entering the 2021 season,” said Holmes. “So, don’t see this as it will be a long term [project], I don’t know how long this will take. This is not the approach.
“This is not the mentality involved. The approach is to ensure that we can put the most competitive team on the field in 2021.”