DETROIT — The words written on the whiteboard in Brad Holmes’ office eagerly await his arrival each morning. They are there for him when he needs them, lingering in the distance when he doesn’t. Nagging reminders of a season lost. Plans to find what once was. A look back in the rearview mirror, checking blind spots on a road back to prominence.
The message?
“It was just a reminder that when the playoffs started, we were sitting at home watching,” Holmes said.
A much-anticipated 2025 season began with hope anew. The Lions were fresh off a 15-2 record, back-to-back NFC North titles and a No. 1 seed in the NFC. Holmes had built a juggernaut — a roster that boasted enviable star power. However, the Lions lost their way, and lost themselves.
Their coaching staff was poached, with eight assistants departing in one offseason. Detroit’s once-heralded offensive line was aging quickly, and took a major blow when Frank Ragnow retired in June. The Lions were bullied in the trenches. Injuries piled up. They struggled to close out games. There was more talk than action. And with their season on the line in December — typically when this group has played its best football — the Lions lost three in a row to unceremoniously bow out of the playoff hunt.
Back in January, Holmes and coach Dan Campbell vowed to take a long look at Detroit’s approach. An internal review of what was needed. The playoff absence lit a fire that fueled their every move.
The ones that made headlines, and the ones that didn’t.
“Bottom line is, for our standards, this was a disappointment,” Holmes said. “If we’re not in the dance and we’re not competing for a championship, it’s a failure. … But before I look at anything, I’m looking at myself. I have to do a better job. Obviously, haven’t been good enough and look, I’m always going to look inwards.
“That’s probably the only light that may come out of this darkness. When you have these kinds of results, you don’t have a choice. You’re forced to look at everything long and hard and truthful and honestly, all in efforts to improve our football team.”
That’s what they set out to do.
The first step was admitting there was a problem.
Holmes and Campbell met to discuss what they could do differently and what was needed. First, they determined, was a fresh set of eyes to oversee the offense after a conversation that centered on what coaches could do better.
Two days after the season concluded, the Lions parted ways with offensive coordinator John Morton, who was stripped of his play-calling responsibilities midway through his only season as OC.
Unlike the year before, when Morton’s familiarity with Campbell and the Lions earned him the job following Ben Johnson’s departure, Campbell’s latest OC search would cast a wide net. Campbell wanted a sharp, detail-oriented mind with experience coaching multiple positions. Few internal candidates were publicly revealed. The list of public names included big names like Mike McDaniel, as well as a number of coaches who never worked with Campbell. It was by design. Campbell sought external ideas on how to elevate a talented, inefficient offense.
It only took him 20 minutes to know Drew Petzing was the right man for the job.
“His confidence, his conviction, his knowledge, his detail in everything and why he was doing what he was doing, and what he was thinking and how he was teaching it,” Campbell said of Petzing at the combine. “I just loved his presence, and I loved the way he taught, and I love the detail behind it. … I just think that he’s a creative guy and can make things happen.”
Once the coaching staff was in place, free agency loomed. The Lions had conversations about how they planned to attack it. They had two main objectives: get younger and bring in competition.
This was important to Campbell, in particular. At various points this offseason, Campbell stated his desire to add competition in an effort to recapture the hunger of his early Lions teams. Holmes was right there with him in lockstep.
“Let’s make sure that our calling card is what we said,” Campbell said at the league meetings in March. “It’s about grit, and everything starts with grit, and then we’ll work from there. … I just want to make sure that we’re saying what we are, that we believe in what we really are, and it’s not lip service. That’s all.”
Were the Lions a bit too comfortable last season? That’s one way to interpret comments like those. This group has won a lot of games, and even as it struggled to keep pace in the playoff race last season, there was a confidence that things would come together because of what they’ve collectively experienced.
But it never did. It forced the Lions to dig into the why.
The findings are reflected in their free-agency moves.
The influx began in the weeks before the start of the new league year.
• Offensive tackle Dan Skipper, a player who epitomized the culture in Detroit, retired and joined the coaching staff.
• Center Graham Glasgow, drafted by the Lions in 2016, was released.
• David Montgomery, a soon-to-be 29-year-old running back in search of more carries, was traded to the Houston Texans.
• Longtime left tackle Taylor Decker, who considered retirement before announcing his return, was released after failing to come to terms on a pay cut.
Then came free agency. Linebacker Alex Anzalone, wide receiver Kalif Raymond, cornerback Amik Robertson, edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, defensive tackle DJ Reader and others have either signed with new teams or aren’t expected back in 2026.
Depending on your vantage point, the Lions either lost the veteran leadership that ignited this run or passed the torch to the core group that’s been prepped for their departure.
Not only will Detroit look to Jahmyr Gibbs, left, and Amon-Ra St. Brown for offensive production in 2026, it will look to them for leadership. (Junfu Han / Imagn Images)
Think about it: Raymond showed Amon-Ra St. Brown the ropes. Decker was Penei Sewell’s veteran. Anzalone eased Jack Campbell’s NFL transition. Montgomery was a big brother to Jahmyr Gibbs. By taking the training wheels off, the Lions are signaling an urgency to their true core. They’re challenging players to find comfort in the uncomfortable and to set the tone as this next chapter unfolds.
“It’s never easy,” Campbell said about parting ways with trusted vets. “But what we’re saying is — I’m putting my eggs in the basket of Penei Sewell in that O-line room. He’s the leader. I’m putting my eggs in the basket of Jack Campbell in the linebacker room. Like, it’s time. These guys weren’t just good football players coming out of college that fit us. These guys have leadership qualities. … To me, we may be taking the handcuffs off of some of these guys if you ask me a little bit. It’s time for these guys to grow and take ownership of this. I think it’s actually going to help us in the long run.”
It could, but only if the Lions surround that core with the right supplemental pieces. That’s what they wanted to get out of free agency.
Cade Mays was Detroit’s No. 2 free-agent center, right behind Tyler Linderbaum. Mays will make less over three years ($25 million) than Linderbaum will make annually ($27 million). The Lions view him as an ascending talent, having only played the position for two NFL seasons. The Lions valued Mays’ ability to anchor in pass protection, after allowing the second-fastest average time to pressure and a pass-block win rate that ranked 31st in the NFL, per ESPN.
Edge D.J. Wonnum and OT Larry Borom were added as starting-caliber options on affordable deals. The Lions wanted to cover their bases to keep their options open in the draft. They believed Borom had the best year of his career playing right tackle in Miami last season. The internal belief is that Wonnum will benefit playing across from Aidan Hutchinson as he did in Minnesota with Danielle Hunter, when he notched eight-sack seasons in 2021 and 2023.
Elsewhere, there were smart, sensible signings. Teddy Bridgewater’s return helps replace some of the lost leadership. Isiah Pacheco is the Montgomery replacement and will cost just $1.8 million. Tyler Conklin joined Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright in the tight end room to give the Lions options as the NFL shifts toward a 13 personnel trend.
The secondary received a boost with depth signings like Roger McCreary, Christian Izien and Chuck Clark. Greg Dortch fills the Raymond role and is familiar with Petzing’s terminology from their time together in Arizona. Damone Clark brings starting-caliber depth to the linebacker room. Ben Bartch (free agency) and Juice Scruggs (Montgomery trade) add experienced interior OL reserves.
These are hungry players — many of whom have scratched and clawed their way to NFL careers. The Lions sought them out for a reason.
“Healthy chaos, healthy competition,” Campbell said. “… It lifts the floor, man, and if it lifts the floor, it makes your whole team better.”
After free agency, the Lions believed they had set themselves up for one of their most important drafts in years. The way they attacked it reflected as much.
Detroit’s top 30 visits are typically reported in abundance, but this year’s list was noticeably smaller. The Lions canceled their local pro day, opting to spend the time elsewhere. And for the first time, Holmes skipped the owners’ meetings to stay in Detroit and focus on the draft.
It was all intentional.
You could feel the urgency. It felt like a draft that needed to address specific immediate needs — tackle and edge — in ways others hadn’t.
And yet, they didn’t sacrifice their standards in the process.
On the clock at pick 17, the Lions selected Clemson OT Blake Miller — a perfect culture and scheme fit. Miller is a plug-and-play right tackle with 54 career college starts. He’s durable, experienced, tough, goes above and beyond for his teammates and possesses a finisher’s mentality. The sort of player who thrives in this ecosystem.
“You get to go out there and you get to take someone’s will every play,” Miller said when asked what he loves most about being an offensive lineman. “At the end of the game, you want to see them looking for the sideline (for help).”
After hearing from Holmes and talking with people in Allen Park, it became clear that Miller was higher on Detroit’s board than Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor (12th overall), Georgia’s Monroe Freeling (19th) and Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor (21st). He had what others didn’t — the right combination of experience, athleticism and intangibles. The Lions even made calls to move up to land Miller.
One of those conversations, according to The Athletic’s Nate Atkins, was with the Los Angeles Rams, who weren’t interested in parting ways with No. 13 for Day 3 picks, and instead selected Alabama QB Ty Simpson. After the Rams took Simpson, Holmes said the Lions felt good about their chances of getting Miller at 17 and didn’t feel obligated to trade up.
In Miller, the Lions addressed one of their biggest needs with a player they sought who fits them like a glove. The next night, they did the same.
As Day 2’s first few picks were phoned in, reports trickled out that the Lions were interested in an edge rusher. Their No. 1-ranked edge remaining was sticking out like a sore thumb. Sensing a potential run looming, the Lions worked the phones, moved up six spots with the New York Jets to draft Michigan edge Derrick Moore 44th overall.
The Lions moved one spot ahead of Moore’s hometown Baltimore Ravens, now coached by Moore’s former Michigan defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter.
Moore is the first Day 1 or 2 edge rusher the Lions have selected since 2022 — the year they drafted Hutchinson. He’s a long, athletic prospect who turns speed to power, can set an edge and maul with his bull rush. He arrived on Michigan’s campus right as Hutchinson entered the draft, with the goal of breaking Hutchinson’s single-season sack record. While he ultimately fell short, a national title isn’t a bad consolation prize.
At the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, Moore was tasked with carrying the national championship trophy on stage as the 2024 Wolverines were recognized. Now, Moore gets to play with Hutchinson — hoping to deliver more hardware to Detroit.
With the draft over and training camp around the corner, the offseason will soon come to an end. And while it’ll take time to see if their decisions yield the desired results, how the Lions attacked the last few months was borderline surgical.
There was intent behind every move. They attacked their needs head-on. They maximized limited resources. They made adjustments, but did it without sacrificing their process.
“I think everybody’s a human being and everybody can feel like, OK, what we’re doing is working, so let’s keep doing that,” Holmes said. “And then you get hit in the face and it’s like, whoa, maybe it’s not good enough. That was kind of the silver lining. As much as it sucked to end the season how it ended, it might have been what we needed.”
We don’t always like what mirrors show us, but sometimes, reflection is necessary to move forward.