NFL Executives Are HBCU Graduates On The Verge Of Meeting In Super Bowl LVIII
HOUSTON - Two of the brightest National Football League executives are graduates of HBCUs. On Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens will compete for their conference title and a spot in Super LVIII.
Building a winning team in the NFL is a tremendous undertaking. Not to mention, constructing a Super Bowl-caliber team is a colossal achievement for any NFL executive.
Brad Holmes and Sashi Brown will represent North Carolina A&T and Hampton University, hoping their teams will earn a trip to Las Vegas as members of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, 2024.
Oct 22, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes stands on the sideline before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
BRAD HOLMES - GM, DETROIT LIONS
I was proud to cast a ballot for Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes to receive the recognition as the 2023 PFWA NFL Executive of the Year. In three seasons, the North Carolina A&T graduate launched a strategic campaign to bring the city of Detroit a winner.
Holmes and his staff have transformed the once hapless Detroit Lions franchise into a 12-5 playoff-winning team.
Today, they are on the verge of its first-ever Super Bowl appearance. Although Holmes did not hire head coach Dan Campbell, they both took their respective offices with the organization in January 2021.
Since then, the two leaders in Detroit have been joined at the hip.
Besides selecting Aidan Hutchinson as his first draft pick, the James Houston IV pick out of Jackson State in the 6th round may become his most-favorite of them all. Also, he kept a promise to his mother in selecting an HBCU player in the draft.
Houston didn't make the final 53-man roster in 2022, but after rapidly developing on the practice squad, his Thanksgiving Day debut shocked the NFL, sacking Josh Allen twice and recovering a fumble.
During the season, Houston surpassed Hutchinson in sacks and set NFL records with a four-game sack streak as a rookie. His impressive feat fell a half-sack short of tying Hutchinson to lead NFL rookies in 2022.
Holmes made more significant draft selections with offensive tackle Penei Sewell (first round), running back Jahmyr Gibbs (first round), linebacker Jack Campbell (first round), and tight end Sam LaPorta (second round). He's also been very good with free-agent signings like linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, and linebacker Alex Anzalone. Exchanging quarterbacks with the Los Angeles Rams - Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford - has been an understated acquisition.
In 2002, Brad Holmes completed his studies at NC A&T with a journalism and mass communication degree.
Dec 11, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens president Sashi Brown looks on against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Baltimore won 16-14. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
SASHI BROWN - PRESIDENT, BALTIMORE RAVENS
The Baltimore Ravens president, Sashi Brown, runs the team's business operations from the "finances, budgeting, non-football personnel, corporate sales, operations, stadium activities, communications and business ventures."
The Ravens hired the Hampton University graduate on April 1, 2022, after working from 2019-2021 in the Baltimore-D.C. area for Monumental Sports & Entertainment as the Wizards, Mystics, and Go-Go president. He had previous NFL experience, serving as the executive vice president of football operations for the Cleveland Browns from 2013 to 2017.
Brown gained experience in HBCU sports at Hampton University, where he was the analyst and play-by-play announcer for the football and basketball teams.
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in mass media from Hampton University and graduated from Harvard Law School with a law degree in 2002.
If the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions win their respective conference championships, Holmes and Brown would be the first NFL executives with HBCU degrees to meet in a Super Bowl.