Detroit Lions new general manager Brad Holmes has said he believes defender Matthew Stafford is a “great player” who has many intangible traits that he likes to see among all his players.
Holmes, however, did not make a definitive statement about Stafford’s future, with two years left on his contract. Owner Sheila Ford Hamp said it would depend on Holmes and their coach, who has yet to be named.
“What you really appreciate is that the talent was easy to see, but you really appreciate the way his intangibles appear in the film,” Holmes, 41, said of Stafford. “How urgent he plays, how competitive he is, the toughness he shows. But it’s my job to evaluate the whole list and, through this process, I haven’t had discussions with Matt or any player, by the way.
“So you know, I just want to be fair in this process to make sure we evaluate this carefully, but obviously Matt, a very good football player.”
Much of Holmes’ first news conference on Tuesday focused on how he wants to “reorganize” a Lions roster that finished last in the NFC North in each of the last three seasons. Everything he tries to bring will be part of a larger process that he envisions, something he has seen work well in the nearly two decades with the Rams, as he makes his way from public relations intern to director. research college under Les Snead.
Holmes said the first thing he wants to do is meet and go through the entire list after the team hires a new head coach. This position is expected to be held by New Orleans Saints assistant head coach Dan Campbell, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Team president Rod Wood said a collaboration between Holmes and the new head coach will tell about the decisions on the 53-man list. Holmes, the new head 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 since they were conducting searches for the head coach and general manager at the same time, they asked GM candidates who they had in mind as head coaches. And he would ask coaching candidates similar questions about CEOs. Often, Hamp said, the lists had common names.
Hamp said Holmes spoke with some of their remaining candidates after he was hired.
During those interviews, Holmes “blew the competition,” Wood said. Hamp said he believes, especially in terms of analysis and technology, what Holmes will bring is “certainly different from what we did here.”
Holmes did not want to delve into specific details, but all of these are the beginning of what Holmes describes as his process.
“I would say we all have confidence in the process that will take place,” Holmes said. “It will be a very healthy process. It will be a very thorough and diligent process and, as I said earlier, we will hand over these results to the process. I have always been one who likes to go through the process and try to delay my intuition towards final.
“So if we keep the sound process and then make the right intuitive decisions in the future, I think Lions fans will be very, very happy with the results they see.”
Holmes does not see his process as a massive reconstruction. He said his plan is to launch a competitive team in 2021, acknowledging that there are areas, defensively, where lions “will definitely be reorganized,” but did not provide details.
But he said he saw the basics on a defense that allowed the most points and yards in franchise history last season under head coach Matt Patricia and defensive coordinator Cory Undlin.
Detroit has defender Jeff Okudah, general election no. 3 last year, as well as defender Amani Oruwariye, safety Tracy Walker, defensive end Trey Flowers and defender Jamie Collins as starters who should return next season.
“The ultimate goal is to make sure that the most competitive team is on the field and that it starts right now, this year, entering the 2021 season,” Holmes said. “So if you don’t see this, it will be in the long run [project], I don’t know how long this will take. This is not the approach.
“This is not the mentality that goes into it. The approach is to make sure we can put the most competitive team on the field possible in 2021.”