Brad Holmes Pushes Back on Detroit Lions Super Bowl Window Closing

The Detroit Lions were one half of football away from appearing in the Super Bowl back in 2023.

Unfortunately, the team went on to lose to the San Francisco 49ers, denying the organization an opportunity to appear in the Super Bowl for the first time ever.

At the time, many felt the Lions' Super Bowl window was just opening. The team went on to win 15 games in 2024, but failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2025.

Since that fateful evening in San Francisco, the team has regressed, if the measurement is playoff success.

Appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show" at the 2026 Scouting Combine, general manager Brad Holmes was asked about the notion from some that the window to actually win a Lombardi trophy was closing.

Holmes pushed back on the notion, indicating the team was still chalk full of young talent and features a quarterback that is playing well and in his prime.

“I would push back on that, just because, even with the dilemma we’re facing now, is that we have a lot of young, ascending players that are eligible for extensions. Even look at this past season, I want to say that we had six Pro Bowl players, we had three All Pro caliber players that weren’t even available. That could have been more," said Holmes. "So, I think that we’ve done in the draft in terms of these ascending young players, I think it’s given us an opportunity to keep our window open. And then also our quarterback, that he’s in his prime, he’s playing at a high level. Those alone keeps that window open.”

“I understand the situations, like yeah, you get that close to making it to the big game, and then you don’t make it that close again, okay? The easy narrative is okay, it’s closing because you missed your shot," Holmes commented further. "That’s not what we believe. We still believe that our window’s open. Really, the way we operate is that we want to avoid windows.”

Despite the organization having four straight winning seasons, the organization is seeking to get back to their roots of competition.

When the team was winning, there were a handful of draft selections that were not intended to produce immediate impact.

If Holmes and the personnel department are able to add players in the 2026 draft that are better suited to play sooner, the team can find their way back into the postseason.

The challenge becomes ensuring the team can stay healthy and the pieces all come together to produce success.

With each passing season, the challenges appear to be growing, but the organization is hoping the setbacks cease.

The core foundation is talented, but their remain strong question marks regarding the coaching staff and scheme on defense and if the roster has enough high-end talent to close the gap between themselves and the bona-fide contenders in 2026.

Brad Holmes on the #Lions window closing. We avoid windows #GOAT response pic.twitter.com/29x888JHTK
— We Just Begun (@LionsVsEvery1) February 25, 2026