Brad Holmes was named the Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager on Jan. 14, 2021. In his role, he oversees the Lions' football operations and reports directly to Principal Owner and Chair Sheila Ford Hamp and President and CEO Rod Wood.
Holmes joined the Lions after spending 18 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams (2003-2020). In 2013, the Rams elevated Holmes to Director of College Scouting, where he was responsible for overseeing the team's college scouting operations for eight seasons.
Holmes' vision for leading the Lions has been founded on a collaborative approach with Head Coach Dan Campbell as the two began reshaping the roster in 2021. Placing an emphasis on players with grit, passion and football character, Holmes has enhanced the Lions roster through precision in every phase of the talent acquisition process as he enters his sixth season as Executive Vice President and General Manager.
Holmes' combination of Draft success and strategic free agent signings has helped the Lions achieve historic success with winning seasons each of the last four years (9-8 in 2022, 12-5 in 2023, 15-2 in 2024, 9-8 in 2025). The last time the Lions accomplished this feat came during the 1969-72 seasons.
The 2025 season saw two Lions (T Penei Sewell, LB Jack Campbell) earn Associated Press First-Team AllPro Honors, while DE Aidan Hutchinson and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown were named Second-Team All-Pro. Since Holmes became Lions General Manager in 2021, Detroit has had 16 Associated Press All-Pro selections (eight First-Team, eight Second-Team), as well as 26 Pro Bowl selections consisting of 13 different players.
With a draft-and-develop approach to building his team, Holmes' success in the draft has resulted in several of his core draft selections earning major contract extensions under his tenure, including Campbell, Sewell, St. Brown, S Kerby Joseph, DT Alim McNeill and LB Derrick Barnes. Holmes also signed QB Jared Goff, who was acquired by the Lions via a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Rams during Holmes' first month on the job in 2021, to a long-term contract extension prior to the 2024 season.
Over the last four seasons, Holmes and his personnel staff have also acquired key free agent signings that have helped piece together one of the deepest rosters in the NFL. Holmes' free agent singings this season include C Cade Mays, RB Isiah Pacheco, TE Tyler Conklin, T Larry Borom, WR Greg Dortch, S Chuck Clark, DE D.J. Wonnum and DB Christian Izien. In the 2026 NFL Draft, Holmes created a youth movement in key areas of the roster with the selections of Clemson T Blake Miller and Michigan DE Derrick Moore in the first and second rounds, respectively. The Lions rounded out the 2026 draft class with LB Jimmy Rolder (fourth round, Michigan), CB Keith Abney (fifth round, Arizona State), WR Kendrick Law (fifth round, Kentucky), DT Skyler Gill-Howard (sixth round, Texas Tech) and DL Tyre West (seventh round, Tennessee).
In 2024, the Lions set records during the regular season, posting the most wins (15), touchdowns scored (70) and points scored (564) in a single season in franchise history. The Lions captured their secondconsecutive NFC North division title with a 31-9 Week 18 win over rival Minnesota and secured the number-one seed in the NFC for the first time in team history. In 2023, the team finished the season with a 12-5 record and clinched a division title for the first time in 30 years. The Lions went on to appear in their second-ever NFC Championship Game, their first since the 1991 season. Holmes was named the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) Executive of the Year in back-to-back seasons for his work in 2023 and 2024, becoming the first Detroit Lions executive to win the award and the NFL's third general manager to win it multiple times.
Prior to the Lions, Holmes led the Rams college scouting department and helped the organization capture two NFC West titles en route to three playoff berths and an appearance in Super Bowl LIII. After originally joining the Rams in 2003 as a public relations intern, Holmes transitioned into scouting and spent nearly two decades in a variety of roles within the organization's player personnel department, including NFS scout, area scout, national Combine scout and scouting assistant.
In his previous role, Holmes collaborated with the Rams' personnel directors to improve technological resources and enhance overall scouting procedures. While holding a prominent leadership role in the player personnel department from 2013-20, Holmes helped the Rams achieve a 64-58 record (.524), while having a total of 25 players named to the Pro Bowl during that span. He played an integral role in drafting several key players on the Rams' current roster, including DT Aaron Donald, QB Jared Goff, WR Cooper Kupp and S John Johnson. Holmes was also instrumental in helping the Rams acquire All-Pro CB Jalen Ramsey via trade in 2019.
A Tampa, Fla. native, Holmes graduated cum laude from North Carolina A&T State University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Mass Communications and was a four-year letterman for the Aggies at defensive tackle. He was voted team captain and helped A&T win the 1999 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Black College Football National Championship. In May 2025, Holmes was given the distinguished honor of delivering the university's Class of 2025 commencement speech. In 2022, the Chamberlain (Fla.) High School Legacy Alliance recognized Holmes as a distinguished alumnus by naming the new football stadium press box in his honor.
Holmes is the son of Melvin Holmes, who played offensive line for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1971-73, and is also the nephew of former Lions defensive back Luther Bradley (1978 first-round pick). In 2025, Holmes and his family started the Brad's Beyond Ball Foundation, which aims to empower high school athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds to excel in areas of personal growth, academic achievement and life skills. He is married to his wife, Lisa, and together they have two children.
