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
The Detroit police's longest-serving member isn't slowing down after more than 50 years
Detroit Police Corporal continues to serve the force for over 50 years
In 1967, Officer Tilman Blair joined the Detroit Police Department. It’s now 2024 – and Corporal Blair is still serving.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – In 1967, Officer Tilman Blair joined the Detroit Police Department.
It’s now 2024 – and Corporal Blair is still serving.
FOX 2: “Who’s this handsome young guy?”
“I don’t recognize him,” he quipped.
Blair’s quick wit and sense of humor along with his commitment, have served him well.
“You’ve got to be willing to serve the public and treat them the way that you want to be treated,” he said.
But he hadn’t expected to stay with DPD – he wanted to be an X-ray technician or real estate agent.
He had sung some backup for friend Nathaniel Mayer and wrote poetry when he was drafted in 1965 and sent to Japan – which he can still recite.
“For the world is full of you and I / Who cheat, steal and even lie / To keep what we have and to part for nothing / And remember always the worst but never the best / You and I.
When he returned home from the service, he thought he’d try being a police officer for one year.
“I hadn’t looked at the police department as being a career – it was going to be a step on the job to something else later,” he said.
Now 80 years old, this great-grandfather works in traffic safety and coordinated crossing guards for the schools.
But he’s ridden everything from the early scooters to the Harley-Davidsons. He has worked special events, escorting presidents – even spending time in ‘Ident’ – that’s identifying fingerprints.
Long before there were computers, there were cards in file cabinets they had to examine one by one.
“At that time we did city prints – Detroit – state and FBI – three prints – we did prints for each one,” Blair said. “It was a job at the time and that’s what you had to do.”
“He told me he would never retire,” said Sgt. Curtis Perry.
Perry is the longest serving active sergeant – he started at DPD in 1975 – and he’s Cpl Blair’s boss.
“He starts at 6:30 (but) he’s there every morning at 6:15, and he has an impeccable memory and he’s very resourceful – very resourceful,” Perry said.
You would think at the age of 80, having served since 1967 that the corporal might be considering retirement – think again.
e told me he wasn’t going to retire – that’s what he told me – but he’s an excellent worker and very resourceful we’re glad to have him.
And we thank him for his service.
The DPD’s Tilman Blair – then and now.
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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