DETROIT — Brad Holmes, Aggie Alum class of 2002, was named executive vice president and general manager for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League.
Holmes most recently served as director of college scouting for the Los Angeles Rams.
In his new role, Holmes will oversee the Lions' football operations and will report directly to principal owner and chairman Sheila Ford Hamp.
Holmes is believed to be one of the first - if not the first - HBCU graduates to hold the general manager position for any major pro sport.
Holmes was a four-year letterman, two-year starter, and in 2001, he was named a captain for the Aggies.
In 1999 while visiting his family back home in Tampa for Christmas Break, Holmes was involved in a bad head-on car wreck that left him with a ruptured diaphragm. He then fell into a coma and suffered a stroke.
After multiple emergency surgeries, he was left partially paralyzed on his right side and spent three weeks in the hospital.
After several months of intensive speech and physical therapy, Holmes fully recovered the ability to speak clearly, and was cleared to play football again in May of 2001.
Holmes' career in the NFL began in 2003 as a public relations intern with the Rams. He eventually transitioned into scouting and served in a variety of roles within the organization's personnel department for 18 years.
