Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes hired as Lions GM
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Lions hired Los Angeles Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes as the team’s new general manager Thursday.
According to the report, the Lions reached agreement on a five-year contract with Holmes after interviewing him for a second time Wednesday.
Holmes started as a public relations intern for the Rams in 2003, moving over as an intern in the scouting department months later and working his way up the ladder to the point that he ran the team’s last eight drafts.
“We are all excited for this opportunity for Brad,” Rams GM Les Snead said. “He has spent his entire career with the Rams and he earned this position with the Lions due to his dedication to being an astute evaluator of football talent, dynamic intelligence, unwavering leadership and humility.
“All of those qualities will ensure he is set up to be successful in this next chapter of his career.”
According to Birkett, Holmes mentioned Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley as a potential candidate for Detroit’s head coaching job.
Staley already has interviewed for the Los Angeles Chargers and New York Jetes head coaching vacancies, and the Houston Texans have asked for permission to interview Staley for the head coaching vacancy.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter points out, the Rams now become the first NFL team to receive two third-round compensatory draft picks as part of the league’s new hiring initiatives. The 41-year-old Holmes is African-American.
You can listen to Holmes talk here about his drafting philosophy with the Rams.
