Brad Holmes (born July 29, 1979) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
executive who is the
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
and executive vice president for the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). Holmes previously served with the
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
/
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
in various executive roles from 2003 to 2020.
Education and playing career
Holmes attended
George D. Chamberlain High School in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, where he was captain of the football team, and was also elected
homecoming king.
Holmes graduated
cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
from
North Carolina A&T
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...
in 2002 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in Journalism and Mass Communications, and was a four-year
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
for the Aggies at
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
under head coach
Bill Hayes.
In 1999, he was voted team captain and helped A&T win the
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...
and
Black college football national championship
The black college football national championship is a national championship honor that, since 1920, has been regularly bestowed upon the best football teams among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) within the United States.
Histo ...
. While visiting home after the 1999 season, Holmes was involved in a car accident that left him in a
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
for a week.
After making a full recovery, he was cleared to play his final season of college football in 2001.
Executive career
Early career
Following his playing career, Holmes obtained a job with
Enterprise Rent A Car while attempting to begin a career in professional sports. He soon obtained a
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
internship with the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) in 2002, which he parlayed into a public relations internship with the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
of the NFL in 2003.
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams
In 2003, Holmes was hired by the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
as a public relations intern. While in St. Louis, Holmes struck up a friendship with
Wilbert Montgomery
Wilbert Montgomery (born September 16, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine years with the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. He was also the running ...
, a two-time
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
running back and the Rams running backs coach from 1997 to 2005.
At the conclusion of the public relations internship, Montgomery assisted Holmes in securing a position in the Rams player personnel department.
From 2003 to 2012, Holmes served in a number of front office positions with the Rams, including scout, area scout, national
Combine scout, and scouting assistant. Since joining the Rams in 2003, Holmes worked under Rams front office executives
Charley Armey
Charley Armey (born July 16, 1939) is a former American football coach, scout, and executive. He was an assistant and then interim head coach for the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983. He was a scout for the Green Ba ...
, Jay Zygmunt,
Billy Devaney
William Joseph Peter Francis Devaney (born March 7, 1955) is a professional American football analyst on ESPN. Prior to that Devaney was a football executive. He was the general manager for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League from ...
, and
Les Snead
Samuel Lester Snead (born January 19, 1971) is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL), a position he has held since 2012. Prior to joining the Rams in 2012, Snead se ...
.
In 2013, Holmes was named the Rams Director of College Scouting.
In this role, Holmes was integral in the acquisition of Rams "
Mob Squad" Pro Bowlers
Aaron Donald
Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American football defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh, where he received unanimous All-American honors, and ...
,
Jared Goff
Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passing ...
,
Todd Gurley
Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Georgia, where he recei ...
,
Cooper Kupp
Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...
,
Pharoh Cooper
Pharoh Cooper (born March 7, 1995) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Carolina, and was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth rou ...
, and
Cory Littleton
Cory Littleton (born November 18, 1993) is an American football linebacker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington. He signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agen ...
.
Detroit Lions
On January 14, 2021, Holmes was named the executive vice president and general manager of the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
.
Holmes signed a five-year contract, succeeding prior general manager
Bob Quinn.
Holmes' first transaction as general manager was trading longtime franchise quarterback
Matthew Stafford
John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected f ...
to the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
in exchange for two first round picks, a third round pick, and quarterback
Jared Goff
Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California, where he set the Pac-12 Conference season records for passing ...
.
Personal life
Holmes is the son of
Melvin Holmes, who played offensive line for the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
from 1971 to 1973. He is also the nephew of former
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
defensive back
Luther Bradley
Luther Alexander Bradley (born May 7, 1955) is a former professional American football player who played four seasons for the Detroit Lions. He later played with the Chicago Blitz, Arizona Wranglers and Houston Gamblers of the USFL. He is the U ...
, a
1978 first-round draft pick.
Holmes cousin,
Alex Barron, was a first-round pick of the Rams in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
.
Holmes is married to his wife, Lisa, and together they have a son, B.J., and a daughter, Lola.
References
External links
Detroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Brad
1979 births
Living people
Detroit Lions executives
St. Louis Rams scouts
Los Angeles Rams scouts
People from Tampa, Florida
North Carolina A&T State University alumni
North Carolina A&T Aggies football players
Detroit Lions currentteam parameter articles
National Football League general managers
All Wikipedia articles written in American English
Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism
African-American sports executives and administrators
African-American players of American football
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople