From his season-ending press conference after the 2023 season to comments last April, Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes made his thoughts clear about the team being a "Cinderella Story" or being in any sort of a "Super Bowl window."
After losses in each of the last two postseasons, it's easy to lean into the notion the Lions window to win a Super Bowl is closing, or it's at least significantly narrowed already. After the Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders, head coach Dan Campbell of course said he thinks the team's Super Bowl window is "absolutely open."
Holmes had his own season-ending press conference on Thursday, of course touching on a wide range of topics.
Brad Holmes still (obviously) rejects idea the Lions are in a 'Super Bowl window'
Holmes was asked if the team's offseason plan would be altered by the idea that the window may closing and the roster may only be one or two players away from getting over the proverbial hump.
"I think that we’ve done a good job of doing our best we can to avoid windows,” Holmes said. “And I understand that contracts come up when contracts come up and stuff happens, but we feel so good about our young core and young nucleus of players, and we feel really good about our quarterback and how he’s playing and him having a—let’s call it an MVP-caliber season this year. So, I just think that all of the pieces are in place that I don’t really feel walls closing in or a window and again, we kind of make an effort to avoid those kinds of things."
Holmes then confirmed what the plan has always been when it comes to outside veteran additions.
"If it’s the right veteran player that can help us and it’s the right fit, then we have no problem doing it if it’s going to help our football team, but we’ve always said that we’re going to build through the draft,” Holmes continued. "And I think that’s why we are in the position that we are in from a ‘window standpoint’ of having the comfort to keep building like we have been.”
Holmes' response to the idea of the Lions being in any kind of "windows" is not at all surprising. He and Campbell have consistently, persistently rejected any kind of short-term, "we have to be all-in" thinking, instead staying committed to the core plan of building through the draft to have sustained success. That plan has worked very well to this point, so there's no reason to stray from it just because this year's playoff result was disappointing.