![\"Brad](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1234267672-1.jpg\")
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Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell acquired a new kicker on May 25.<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2023, the Detroit Lions<\/a> failed to return to the NFL postseason after posting a record of 9-8 in the 2025 NFL season.<\/p>\n Not only did the Lions experience numerous injuries to multiple key players, but their defensive efficiency went down, and the final nail in the coffin was their stunning 23-10 loss to the Vikings<\/a> in Week 17 in Minnesota, sealing their fate.<\/p>\n Fans of the Lions have been divided so far on the moves by general manager Brad Holmes during the offseason, and there have even been reports of a rift between him and head coach Dan Campbell.<\/p>\n While both parties denied a rift exists, what are the chances that both individuals could have their seats begin to warm up in the event that the Lions experience another down year in 2026?<\/p>\n Could Dan Campbell And Brad Holmes Be On The Hot Seat?<\/p>\n Longtime Detroit sports insider Matt Shepard, who is currently a co-host on the Woodward Sports Network, speculated that both Holmes and Campbell could be considered \u201chot seat\u201d candidates before long if the season goes off the rails for the Lions in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people believe this team underachieved a year ago,\u201d Shepard said<\/a>. \u201cAnd now, perhaps for the first time, he and his general manager are being linked together as possible hot seat performers \u2013 if not this year, the following year.\u201d<\/p>\n With their consecutive divisional victories in 2023 and 2024, expectations were naturally high coming into last season, but those expectations were not met. If the Lions were to go another season without making it back to the postseason, those are uncomfortable questions that the organization could soon begin to face.<\/p>\n While both men have helped lead the Lions to their greatest success in several decades, the old adage \u201cWhat have you done for me lately?\u201d applies perfectly in this situation.<\/p>\n Brad Holmes Explained His Offseason Free-Agency Strategy<\/p>\n While many Lions fans believed that the club would prioritize the edge position, Holmes explained that the strategy was to bolster the offensive line.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew what we needed to do on the offensive line. We were all very aware of what we were going to do on the offensive line,\u201d Holmes said.<\/a> \u201cAnd so once we made those financial commitments on the offensive line, I pretty much had a good sense that I don\u2019t think that we\u2019re going to be able to do much else when it comes to that (EDGE) position.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s another expensive position. It\u2019s like what they call it, it\u2019s a premium position. So, basically, it wasn\u2019t like we\u2019re choosing this player over that player, and I wouldn\u2019t even say the financials were exactly the same (between Wonnum and Muhammad) as well. Just once we made that decision for the offensive line, made that commitment, it kinda took us out of some of those other options at edge rusher, including Muhammad.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lions suffered multiple losses on the defensive side of the ball, including Alex Anzalone (Buccaneers), cornerback Amik Robertson (Commanders), and rotational tackle Roy Lopez (Cardinals<\/a>), and DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (Buccaneers).<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMichael Whitaker<\/a> Michael Whitaker is a sports journalist based in metro Detroit with nearly a full decade of experience with publications like Clutch Points and The Hockey News. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Eastern Michigan University. More about Michael Whitaker<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lions\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell acquired a new kicker on May…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2071],"tags":[146,113,2506,7,147,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-863719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-lions","8":"tag-detroit","9":"tag-detroit-lions","10":"tag-detroitlions","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-lions","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116384505733818853","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}