Whenever it comes time for the Detroit Lions to hire a new general manager, I always beg for them to bring in a candidate who has a plethora of experience — especially recent experience — when it comes to college scouting and the NFL Draft. My belief is that it is easier to build a great football team by consistently hitting on draft picks and then using free agency to fill the holes. Now, I am not saying it is impossible to be average at drafting and win (New England Patriots) but it is tougher.
Well, for once, the Lions have made me happy by hiring former Los Angeles Rams director of college scouting Brad Holmes to be their next general manager. And, to make things better, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated is reporting that the Lions are going to allow Holmes to focus on what he is great at.
From Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated:
“In order to get the GM job closer to a true scouting job, the Lions are putting VP Mike Disner in charge of much of the football-operations end of things, which means Holmes won’t have to worry about managing areas like travel, nutrition, training and equipment. And Disner, Holmes and the new coach (presumably, Saints assistant Dan Campbell) will all report to Lions president Rod Wood. That’ll make Disner’s job description mirror Rams VP Tony Pastoors’s job description, and Holmes’s mirror Snead’s, with Wood in the role of Rams COO Kevin Demoff.”
I have been excited from the moment I caught wind that Holmes was a strong-candidate and if this report from Breer is true, and the Lions are going to allow Holmes to focus on his strengths rather than stretching him too thin, you should be excited too.
