It’s been quite some time since we checked in with Detroit Lions fans regarding their opinion of general manager Brad Holmes. The last time we polled our audience was almost exactly a year ago, following the team’s 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, those poll results were lost to time (and a migration to a new content management system at SB Nation).
Detroit, MI
Matthew Stafford Should Not Be Remembered as Detroit Lion
As the snow piles up all around the Metro Detroit community, naturally it was time to fire up the television to watch pre-game coverage of the AFC and NFC championship games.
Mix in a little sports radio, a football podcast while eating a hearty breakfast and some google searches, and it dawned on me.
This week will be the five-year anniversary of the Lions blockbuster trade that sent veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams to the Detroit Lions for draft picks and Jared Goff.
As Stafford is preparing for his Rams squad to face the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks, it is time for those rooting for the 37-year-old to let it go.
He is a member of the Rams and not the Lions.
His resume with the Lions is just like the snowflakes falling on your windshield. Eventually, they will evaporate when the weather finally warms up, never to be remembered.
When he eventually retires, he should not have his Lions jersey retired, no entry into the Pride of the Lions and no speeches at Ford Field during primetime games.
This week, Stafford was asked about the evolution of his game to where he’s been able to perform so well in the months of December, January and February since joining the Rams.
Would have been nice in Detroit, right?
“I appreciate that and I understand that. I think quarterback wins is an interesting stat. It takes everybody. There are certain games where I don’t play up to par but we win the game or certain games where I feel like I played really well and we don’t win the game. It doesn’t always correlate with the quarterback,” said Stafford. “Obviously, I want to play as good as I possibly can, but I would equate that to our head coach leading the way and our team playing good football at the right time.
“Surely, I’m doing my best part to try and play at a high level or lead the guys in the right way and find a way to win the football game.,” Stafford added. “There’s no question about that, but I didn’t win those games by myself and I didn’t lose any of them by myself. We play as a team. We win as a team and we lose as a team. That’s what I’d say about that.”
Some will say the Lions failed Stafford. Others blame Stafford.
Many believe it was a true combination of both. But the years-long debate regarding who was more at fault does not really matter.
In the end, Stafford had his career success outside of Detroit, and should be simply revered as a Rams quarterback who failed in Detroit.
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4Warn Weather – SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy skies. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. A few storms could be strong with gusty winds and hail. High: 71.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, becoming partly cloudy skies late. Low: 45.
SUNDAY (MOTHER’S DAY): Mix of sunshine and clouds, cooler temperatures. High: 61.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. Another chilly night. Low: 41.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny skies, remaining chilly. High: 58.
After a beautiful end to the week on Friday with sunshine and a little cloud cover, with warmer temperatures moving into the region as well, some of us are waking up to some patchy dense fog on Saturday morning. Some places south of M-59 are seeing reduced visibilities down to around a mile. If you do run into some patchy dense fog, be sure to use your low beams.
That warming trend continues into the start of the weekend on Saturday, but it also brings a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Another cold front will work through the region by Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening and that will bring our thunderstorm chance. High temperature is warming into low 70s by Saturday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of the region under a Marginal Risk (1 out of 5) on our severe weather scale for the start of the weekend. Gusty winds and hail are the primary threats as we work through the start of the weekend, but this will not be a widespread threat for severe thunderstorms.
Behind that cold front for the end of the weekend on Sunday, we will keep a mixture of sunshine and clouds into the forecast. High temperatures running about 10 to 15° cooler to end the weekend. Expect high to warm into the upper 50s to lower 60s by Sunday afternoon.
Drier weather sticks around for the start of next week, before another chance of rain moves into the region by the time we get to Tuesday. The cooler-than-average temperatures will continue into the start of next week as well. Expect high temperatures to remain in the 50s for Monday and Tuesday.
Temperature start to warm up by the middle of next week, and Drier weather moves back in by Wednesday behind another cold front moving into the region. Expect high temperatures into the lower 60s on Wednesday to warm into the upper 60s by the time we get to Thursday. Above average temperatures move back into the region as we look ahead into the end of the week, expect high temperatures back into the lower 70s by the time we get to Friday.
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But as you can see below, Holmes has been an extremely popular figure among Detroit sports fans for pretty much his entire career.
Although, if there was a time when Holmes’ popularity took a hit, it was likely during the 2025 NFL season, when the Lions took their first clear step back since he and Dan Campbell came to town.
Since last year’s data was lost to time, this is a good opportunity to check back in with Lions fans. While Holmes certainly deserves a ton of credit for getting the Lions back to relevancy and helping them produce four consecutive seasons with winning records, there are some serious blemishes on his resumé now. The 2024 NFL Draft class has not lived up to his high standards through two seasons, some of his riskiest picks over the last few years have all failed to pay off, and last year’s roster just wasn’t good enough to withstand the injuries.
But Holmes is also coming off a very crowd-pleasing draft. Detroit addressed their two biggest needs with their first two selections, and there were no crazy head-scratching picks or expensive trade ups. Many have categorized his latest draft as “back to business as usual,” which could have some fans he lost back on his side.
However, that is all up to you. Vote on your thoughts about Holmes’ time in Detroit below, and share your extended thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
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