Are Detroit Lions Fans Turning On Brad Holmes?

The NFL offseason is in full swing. As always, the action has been fast and furious over the first week of free agency. The league’s salary cap increased to $301.2 million, a leap of $22 million from 2025. Players have cashed in all across the league. The Detroit Lions, however, have mostly watched from the sidelines as hefty contracts were passed out like candy. The team has stood by while numerous key players left town. Lions’ fans hoping to see their team be aggressive and attack the roster’s many needs have been disappointed. This offseason was said to be the most important in team history. Apparently, the Lions’ organization didn’t get the memo. Fans who were anticipating big moves are becoming restless. Which leads to my question: Are Detroit Lions fans turning on Brad Holmes?

Credit Where Credit Is Due

When Holmes took the job, his first task was to find a suitable trade for franchise QB Matthew Stafford. Not exactly an easy proposition. Yet Holmes sent Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for a bevy of draft picks that would become the core of the team. He also acquired Jared Goff in that deal. Almost everyone in the NFL had given up on Goff. Holmes did not, and it proved to be a genius decision. Goff, after a rough 2021 season (with very few weapons), has been one of the most productive QBs in the league ever since. 

Drafting also proved to be another strong suit for Holmes. The 2021-2023 draft classes brought immense talent and hope to the Motor City. Holmes drafted franchise cornerstones like Penei Sewell and Aidan Hutchinson with his top picks in 2021 and 2022. Adding to the hauls of Holmes’ first two drafts were WR Jameson Williams (whom Holmes traded up to draft in 2022), DT Alim McNeill, S Kerby Joseph, LB Derrick Barnes, and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. Plucking an All-Pro like St. Brown in the fourth round is an amazing feat for any GM.

Even with all of the talent Holmes selected in those first two years, his greatest draft magic was in 2023. That stellar class included RB Jahmyr Gibbs, LB Jack Campbell, TE Sam LaPorta, and S Brian Branch. Holmes was widely panned for his picks in 2023. Those who dared criticize Holmes were proven foolish in very short order. Holmes had taken only three years to build a juggernaut.

Which is why the last two seasons have been absolutely soul-crushing for Lions’ fans.

Detroit Lions Officially Arrive In 2023

The Lions announced their arrival to the top tier of the NFL in 2023. After falling just shy of the playoffs the previous year, there would be no denying the Lions in 2023. The team finally put it all together to claim their first-ever NFC North division crown. With a high-flying, exciting offense, the Lions became darlings of the league. Fans everywhere noticed, and Lions’ games quickly became some of the highest-rated televised games in the country.

When the Lions beat Stafford and the Rams in the wildcard round, it was Detroit’s first playoff victory in 32 years. After dispatching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week, the Lions were only one win away from their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl. It was not meant to be, as Detroit fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

Lions Have Underachieved And Become Stagnant Since

Since that game, the Lions have underachieved and become stagnant. After a record-setting 2024 season where Detroit finished 15-2 and earned the top seed in the NFC for the first time, the Lions were bounced in their first playoff game. A magical season, one that finally felt like it was the Lions’ time, was over in an instant. Lions’ fans believed, only to suffer more heartache.

Last year was even worse. Expectations were high once again. It was easy to pin the 2024 flameout on the obscene amount of injuries that befell the Lions. 2025 would be a mission for redemption. Instead, the Lions failed even to reach the playoffs and ended up in the NFC North basement—an unfathomable and inexcusable result for a team with so much talent.

The Lions have made a habit of excelling as underdogs but underachieving as favorites. Even in the NFC Championship game at San Francisco, the Lions blew a 24-7 halftime lead. Underdogs to begin the game, the Lions quickly became overwhelming favorites. Once they were expected to win, the rails fell off, and they couldn’t finish the job.

Where Is The Urgency?

Championship windows in the NFL aren’t open forever. The Lions clearly entered theirs in 2023. However, even as the past three seasons have ended in disappointment, Holmes has not shown any sense of urgency. Instead, he’s been complacent, mistakenly thinking his team was good enough. But in the NFL, there is no such thing as “good enough.” Teams are constantly evolving and improving. 

Lions On Standby While Other Teams Make Big Moves

Look at the Lions’ own division. The Green Bay Packers, already a playoff team, made a colossal trade for Micah Parsons before the 2025 season. With Parsons’ help, the Packers leapfrogged the Lions in the standings and won both games against Detroit. The Packers looked like a contender until Parsons tore his ACL in December.

The Chicago Bears also surpassed the Lions. After naming Ben Johnson as Head Coach, the Bears made several significant moves in free agency to bolster their roster. That aggression led Chicago to the division title and a playoff victory over Green Bay.

Even the Minnesota Vikings, after also regressing in 2025, made a strong, urgent statement just this past week. After a season of J.J. McCarthy at QB, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray. Quarterback was Minnesota’s biggest weakness in 2025, and they clearly upgraded as soon as they could. 

While the rest of the division has improved, the Lions have not. I get that Holmes has operated with a plan since 2021. However, falling short year after year has not made Holmes budge from his strategy. The failures of 2024 and 2025 remain fresh, and Holmes’ refusal to deviate from his plan is causing him to lose the goodwill he has earned from Lions’ fans. Watching your team stand by idly while the rest of the league improves is difficult. The longer Holmes continues this pattern, the more fans will begin to turn on him. The honeymoon period of his tenure is over. Holmes brought the Lions this far. He needs to show more aggression to get them over the hump.

The Lions Lose Several Key Players

It’s not like Lions’ fans want Holmes to make moves just to make moves. Detroit’s roster has holes all over. The Lions need help. Unfortunately, Holmes has shown no interest in most of the big fish available in free agency. In fact, Holmes has stood by as several key Lions have left for other teams. Productive starters like Alex Anzalone, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Amik Robertson are gone. Holmes has not yet brought in adequate replacements.

A team already full of needs now has several more. The Lions had the best RB duo in the NFL with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. One of last year’s fatal mistakes was Detroit’s underutilization of Montgomery. Instead of making D-Mo a focal point in 2026, Holmes traded him to Houston. The team’s biggest strength unnecessarily became a need. Holmes did sign RB Isiah Pacheco to help. The former Kansas City Chiefs RB is coming off two lackluster seasons and looks like a shell of the player he was during his first two years.