Despite a disappointing 9-8 season, Lions GM Brad Holmes still believes the Lions are close to being an NFL contender.
“I don’t think that we’re that far off. I personally don’t,’’ Holmes said at a season-ending press conference on Thursday. “We have a lot of good players, we have a lot of good young ascending players, we have a really good quarterback, we have the right coach. I do think we’re very close.’’
Holmes has already started an introspection top to bottom of why the Lions came up short and failed to make the playoffs.
“We’ll be looking at everything, but I do not think that this is a deep surgery overhaul,’’ Holmes said. “I don’t think that but obviously there needs to be some adjustments.’’
Holmes answered questions for about 40 minutes. He was short on specifics which is his tendency but seems determined to right the ship which finished 2024 with a 15-2 record.
“Bottom line, for our standards, this was a disappointment,’’ Holmes said. “When we set out for this journey for this season it wasn’t to match last year’s record or exceed last year’s record — it doesn’t really matter what the record is — bottom line is if we’re not in the dance and we’re not competing for a championship then it’s a failure.’’
Plain and simple.
Offensive coordinator John Morton has been fired, but no other coaching changes have been announced at this point. The offense came up short of its goals but this disappointing season obviously wasn’t all on Morton. Injuries, again, played a big role in getting them to play consistently good football.
“It’s a lot of things. We’re going to have to take a long, hard look,’’ Holmes said. “Before I look at anything I’ll look at myself.’’
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