DETROIT – Brad Holmes has earned his reputation as a well-respected NFL executive, but that doesn’t stop him from showing a bit of emotion when the Detroit Lions win a big game.
OK, sometimes it’s more than just “a bit.”
Holmes joined Local 4’s Rhonda Walker for an interview about Black History Month and the Lions. What he didn’t know was that Rhonda brought video of some of his viral celebrations.
Comeback win over Houston Texans
The first clip was from Detroit’s massive comeback against the Texans on Sunday Night Football.
The Lions trailed 23-7 at halftime but pitched a shutout after the break to storm back and win, 26-23.
Detroit improved to 8-1 on the season, and Holmes was amped.
Video showed him walking to the sideline with his duffel bag, screaming and pumping his fist to Lions fans.
All Holmes could do was laugh as he watched.
“I had one of my good friends from college go to that game, and it was his first away game he’d ever been to,” Holmes said. “He couldn’t stop talking about -- he said he’s never seen a visiting team’s fan base invade a stadium that way. I was telling him, ‘No, that’s every week.‘
“The sacrifices and the passion that our fans give to us -- it just brings it out of me, and I just like to show love,” Holmes said. “They’re so passionate. I don’t know, it’s just something. It comes out of me. It’s truly them that bring it out of me.”
2023 opener against Kansas City Chiefs
Then, Rhonda pulled up a video of Holmes high-fiving fans in the front row of Arrowhead Stadium after the Lions upset the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs to open the 2023 season.
Holmes was laughing, and Rhonda asked him to describe the emotion.
“I’m a very emotional, passionate person when these kind of moments come, whether it’s in the draft room or we just drafted one of our favorite players or just signed a big free agent or win a game,” Holmes said. “You get so much emotion from the actual game and winning the game. Our fans truly bring that out of me.”
Viral elevator celebration after playoff win
Another video showed Holmes in a packed elevator, standing right in the middle of about 15 people, and he’s screaming his lungs out in celebration.
Why is he so fired up? The Lions had just won their first playoff game in 32 years and nine days. And they did it against his old franchise, the Rams, and Detroit’s old quarterback, Matthew Stafford.
“So, uh...” Holmes said, smiling while watching the video. “The elevator one -- me and Dan, we’ve been through a lot when we first got here. I think that was just a culmination of -- I was just watching that confetti drop down and, I’m like, ‘We just won our first playoff game.’
“It just all came to me, the culmination of all the darkness that we went through, and I think it all came out of me in that elevator, and that’s the best I can explain it.”
Drafting Penei Sewell
Remember how excited Holmes was after the Lions selected Penei Sewell with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft?
Video from the war room showed him jumping, screaming, clapping, and slamming a table next to dudes standing around with their hands in their pockets.
That was the first (in Detroit, at least) of many examples of Holmes' incredible eye for talent, because his enthusiasm turned out to be completely justified. Sewell is now one of the very best players in the NFL, and has since committed to stay with the Lions through 2029 on a four-year, $112 million extension.
“We had just done a Zoom with Penei, me and Dan did, probably a week prior, so Penei was very fresh on my mind, and the more and more and more me and Dan started thinking about him being a part of it -- when we got the opportunity, we just couldn’t be more ecstatic,” Holmes said.
“I’ll never forget: We were waiting on the clock, and then we saw Jaylen Waddle for the Dolphins, the pick right before us, pop up on the screen, and we just erupted. We were just like, ‘How perfect is this?’”
You can watch the entire conversation with Holmes here:
