Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes spoke to the media Thursday for his annual end-of-the-season press conference at the Meijer Performance Center.
"Bottom line, for our standards, this was a disappointment," Holmes said of Detroit's 9-8 season and missing the playoffs. "When we set out for this journey and 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."
It's the early stages of the offseason for the Lions, but Holmes said he's already identified things he can do better heading into the start of the 2026 league year as they look at their operations from top to bottom.
"That's probably the only light that may come out of this darkness," Holmes said. "When you have these kinds 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 kind of recalibrate this thing to play more consistent football."
Here are my five biggest takeaways from Holmes' Thursday press conference:
1. Regaining offensive line dominance is a priority for Holmes
Holmes said Thursday there were some breadcrumbs pointing to center Frank Ragnow's retirement announcement last offseason, but it wasn't until after last year's NFL Draft that Ragnow officially told the team he was calling it quits. That put the team behind the eight ball in terms of the news coming more than a month after the start of free agency and post-NFL Draft. Holmes said Ragnow is not part of their plans moving forward.
There were attempts in both free agency and the draft to upgrade the offensive line that they couldn't get done, Holmes said. There will be attempts again this offseason to upgrade some spots and add competition at others to get this Detroit offensive line back to playing a more consistently dominant brand of football that we've become accustomed to in Detroit.
"Just the offensive line as a whole, whether it's interior or the tackles, that's something that's going to continue to be urgent in terms of adding to," Holmes said.
2. What are the Lions looking for in a new offensive coordinator hire?
The Lions are in the market for a new offensive coordinator after cutting ties with John Morton earlier this week. After calling offensive plays the first eight games of the season, head coach Dan Campbell took over play calling the final nine games of the season to mixed results. Detroit finished the season tied for fourth in scoring (28.3) and fifth in total offense (373.2), but it was inconsistent week to week.
"There has to be leadership. There has to be detail-oriented. There's got to be command of the room," Holmes said of what they're looking for from their next coordinator.
"Somebody that's able to dot every I and cross every T and make sure that nothing is compromised from a detail standpoint, from the start of the game plan period to the end of the week. We're just looking for that type of person."
The Lions return all five of their top skill weapons and quarterback Jared Goff, which should make the Lions' OC job very attractive to some of the best available offensive minds in football.
3. What is the concern level with Kerby Joseph’s knee moving forward?
The NFL's interception leader and All-Pro last season played in just six games this season due to a knee injury that simply didn't improve enough over the course of the year to allow Joseph to play past Week 6. A setback in December ultimately landed him on IR.
Joseph, 25, signed a four-year extension through the 2029 season back in April.
Holmes said they were urgently trying to get Joseph healthy throughout the season in hopes he could play and help them down the stretch, which is why they waited so long to place him on season-ending IR.
"I'm just glad that Kerby is in a spot now where he's not trying to urgently get healthy," Holmes said. "He's going to have the necessary time to get rehab and treatment he needs to get as healthy as he can."
It was something Holmes said popped up after the extension, and all they can do is try to get him as healthy as they can moving forward and work to keep him that way.
4. Draft, develop and re-sign will continue to be the preferred philosophy of roster building in Detroit
Holmes doesn't believe the roster is that far off from competing for a championship, with a lot of good, young, ascending players on it. Does there need to be more talent and competition added to spots? Certainly. But Holmes believes they have the right coach and the right quarterback, and those are the two starting points in getting to a Super Bowl.
"I do not think this is a deep surgery overhaul...I don't think that," Holmes said. "But obviously, there needs to be some adjustments made, for sure."
But Holmes said he'll continue prioritizing his own young players when it comes to allocating resources for the salary cap. Players like Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs and Brian Branch are either entering the final year of their rookie deals or are eligible for extensions in 2026.
"It is a priority because they are really good players," Holmes said. "When Dan and I first started, we said we were going to take the path of draft, develop and sign our own, and I do think that has worked so far as getting us to this point. Those guys are a priority."
Holmes did admit, however, that medical evaluations of LaPorta (back) and Branch (achilles) will play a factor in extension decisions.
5. What do the Lions plan to do at edge rusher opposite Aidan Hutchinson?
Hutchinson had a career season with 14.5 sacks and led the entire league with 100 total pressures. Al-Quadin Muhammad was a nice re-signing by Holmes playing opposite Hutchinson as he finished with 11.5 sacks to complement Hutch.
Detroit finished fourth in the NFL with 49 sacks, but it was inconsistent from week to week, and Detroit ranked toward the bottom of the league in some of the time to pressure metrics.
Muhammad is entering unrestricted free agency this offseason. Detroit's next leading sack man under contract is linebacker Jack Campbell with 5.0. No other edge rusher currently on the roster had more than one sack last season.
Holmes said they made attempts in last year's NFL Draft to secure an edge rusher, but it didn't work out.
"We're definitely going to have to look and replenish opposite of Hutch," Holmes said. "For sure."
