Polls have been done asking NFL players which head coach they'd like to play for, if not their own. It's no surprise Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell lands high in those surveys, based on the way he conducts business.
During his post-training camp press conference last Thursday, Lions general manager Brad Holmes talked about how much things have changed since he and Campbell came to Detroit
"It has been different," Holmes said, via ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "In the past -- I would say for the first two years, we were doing a lot of selling and convincing constantly just to try to get guys here. ... But now, it does make you feel good that we've done something, and we've accomplished some good things that these agents want to send their players here."
Winning will always make players want to play somewhere. But for the Lions, simply having competent and credible people in place at the top of the organization has made a big difference too.
Lions, Brad Holmes get high regard in poll of NFL agents
Ben Standig of The Athletic (subscription required) recently released the results of his poll of 31 NFL agents on multiple topics. When asked which franchise is the best-run in the league, the Lions got one vote as 14 franchises got a vote.
The Lions also got one vote for which team had the best offseason, as eight teams got votes among 30 responses.
Holmes got two votes for best talent evaluator, and he tied for the second-most votes with five votes for best general manager. One of the responders who voted Holmes as best general manager showed appreciation for his overall approach ashe led the Lions' rebuild.
"(Brad) Holmes. He and his staff have done a great job of evaluating on every level. Several of his moves were questioned in real time, whether taking on Jared Goff's contract as part of the Matthew Stafford trade, hiring Dan Campbell as head coach or drafting a running back among the top-12 picks. Whatever the criticism, Holmes stayed the course.”
If there needed to be more proof that the Lions are in a good place under Holmes and Campbell, here it is. Standig noted at the top of his piece how agents have a unique pulse on things in the league, so their high regard for the Lions is duly noted with that in mind.
