Notes: Recapping Lions GM Brad Holmes’ appearance on Rich Eisen Show

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes called in to the Rich Eisen Show on Thursday and spent 20 minutes talking about the draft, the staff, and plans at quarterback. The interview was posted in its entirety on YouTube.

Host Rich Eisen kicked it off with some talk about the Detroit front office’s excitement over drafting Aidan Hutchinson second overall. Holmes said he’d been watching the former Michigan Wolverine since 2020 while working for the Los Angeles Rams and that Hutchinson reminded him of former longtime Ram Chris Long. Following on, Eisen asked if the tales of the league office chastising the Lions for picking “too fast” were true, and Holmes had a good laugh confirming it, saying “hopefully we’re not picking this high next year.”

Next, the discussion turned to the trade up to get Jameson Williams and what ran through Holmes’ mind when news broke of New Orleans trading up to the 11th spot in front of the pick the Lions were attempting to acquire. At first he was uncomfortable, but then he thought about whether the Saints needed an immediate contributor or would be willing to wait for Williams to come back. Thinking the Saints were looking more for a opening day-ready player, he settled back down (and indeed the Saints went with Chris Olave instead).

Twelve minutes into the interview, the host pivoted to a mix of quick topics. First up: Jared Goff’s future in Detroit, noting the Lions did not select a quarterback. According to Holmes, there was no desire to “force” a quarterback pick and that the team was pleased with the way Goff finished strong in 2021. The next quick hitter asked what is on Holmes’ mind when the team gets the new schedule? Three things: season opener opponent, where is the bye week, and who is coming to Detroit on Thanksgiving.

Finally, given the passion shown by head coach Dan Campbell, Eisen wanted to know if Holmes has to brace himself sometimes when the Lions score a big win like drafting Hutchinson and Campbell celebrates with gusto. “Sometimes he’ll give me a little bit of a warning—i’m often sitting next to him—not a warning of what’s going to happen, but he might say, hey I’ve got some hair standing up on the back of my neck.” That puts Holmes on alert that “something could happen at any moment, but it is the best feeling when he is excited.”

Most of the interview does not necessarily cover much new ground, but it’s pretty nice to hear it direct from the general manager himself. Again, the entire video is up on the Rich Eisen Show’s YouTube channel and a fun watch so check it out. Now, on to the rest of today’s Notes:

• The Lions rookies (and one wide receivers coach) were exuberant after the first day of rookie minicamp:

• MLive’s Ben Raven and Kyle Meinke had MLive’s Michigan Wolverines beat writer Aaron McCann and Kentucky.com’s Josh Moore on their Dungeon of Doom podcast to talk about new Lions Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal.

• Detroit Urban Survival Training’s Dale Brown guest starred in an entertaining schedule reveal video:

SBNation’s James Dator named his top seven schedule release videos on the main site, and the Lions came in second on his list. However, the Seattle Seahawks at the seventh spot is also of interest thanks to a featured role of former Lion Quandre Diggs.

• Tim Twentyman from the official team site is starting a new podcast called Twentyman in the Huddle this year, and the first episode is available. His guest for this week is Lions safety DeShon Elliott.

• Ford Field master of music DJRayyadig has a 17 track Spotify playlist to go with the weekly opponents in the 2022 Lions schedule:

• Speaking of the schedule, this seems optimal.