The Detroit Lions are entering the most anticipated season in recent memory and it's thanks to two decisions by Principal Owner and Chair Sheila Hamp, President Rod Wood, COO Mike Disner, Special Assistant Chris Spielman and others back in January 2021.

The first was making Brad Holmes their Executive Vice President and General Manager on Jan. 14. The second was announcing six days later the hire of Dan Campbell on Jan. 20 to be the franchise's new head coach.

There is no relationship more important within an NFL organization than the one between the general manager and head coach. Consistently good NFL teams can identify talent at the front office level and develop it at the coaching level. It seems like an easy concept, but it's proven tough to consistently master in this league.

Over the last three years Holmes and Campbell have proven the ability to identify talent and develop it into what's now one of the best young rosters in the NFL that's gone from a three-win team to NFC North Champions during their tenure.

"I give so much credit to ownership in terms of identifying Dan and myself and us not even really knowing each other but bringing together two like-minded individuals that can really take the ego out of it and just really be about outcome over ego," Holmes told detroitlions.com. "It's really been beautiful. I'm very fortunate and blessed to be in this position."

Holmes spent 18 years in the Rams organization working his way up the front office ladder to become Director of College Scouting, and he learned a few things along the way he's always kept with him.

"I've been very fortunate to go through a lot of different regimes when I was with the Rams and you see things like, 'OK, that's the way to do it.' You also see things where it's like, 'man, that may not be the recipe.' You just learn from it along the way," Holmes said.

The process that led to Holmes and Campbell pairing in Detroit wasn't conventional, but the franchise seems to have hit a home run.

"I've asked Sheila in the past, or Rod, I was like, 'how did you all know?'" Holmes said with a laugh. "I give them their credit. They did their work. And look, talking about ownership, it comes from the top down. They changed their process of how they did things and going about the search and all that. All of it just came together.

"There's no book on how to do it but it comes from the top down from ownership and president, head coach, GM, staff and everybody and it takes a while to get a culture like that in place. Now that we do, and that was a heavy lift early on, it's just cool to see everyone is buying into it."

BUILDING A FOUNDATION

Once Holmes and Campbell got into the building they didn't have long before their first free agency and NFL Draft.

Holmes selected Penei Sewell at No. 7 as his first Lions draft pick and in three seasons he has become the model at just 23-years-old for the culture Holmes wants to build.

Sewell is smart, tough, athletic, relentless and all about putting his head down and going to work. He's worth every penny of the four-year, $112 million extension he signed this offseason.

The same goes for wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who Holmes selected in the fourth round in that first draft as the 17th receiver taken in the class. His 315 receptions are the third most in NFL history through a player's first three seasons and he earned his first All-Pro nod last year. He also earned a four-year, $120 million extension this offseason.

"It is truly the foundation," Holmes said of his first draft class. "You don't want to have a lazy cliché and say, 'oh, it's our first draft, so let's make sure we keep all these guys.' No, it was truly the essence of what we are as a football team now.

"That first pick, Penei Sewell, he's about as franchise as a player as it can get. He embodies every single thing that we're about. I'm really happy that those guys got rewarded. It's deserved and it was earned."

Sewell and St. Brown get a lot of the headlines from Holmes' first draft class, but players like defensive lineman Alim McNeill, linebacker Derrick Barnes and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu have developed into glue pieces that played integral roles in helping the Lions to the NFC Championship Game last season.

"Derrick had to play much earlier due to circumstance than what we really wanted," Holmes said. "This guy needs more time on task as an inside linebacker having played the position one year. Now he's a versatile piece that's part of that foundation.

"Alim McNeill, another guy whose game is steadily developing and is part of the foundation. Iffy (Melifonwu) had the position change and had some health minor bumps and bruises he had to get over and then the position switch. It's really a testament to everything just being patient and building the foundation, man."

Defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, Holmes' second-round pick in that class, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Onwuzurike hasn't yet had the impact the Lions hoped because of injury, but Holmes thinks Onwuzurike is having a terrific training camp and is a player who can help Detroit get over the hump this year. Holmes said Onwuzurike is an example of patience, grit, perseverance and grinding through the tough times for what he hopes is a great story in 2024.

"In terms of players' development, Dan and I are in lockstep in terms of practicing patience," Holmes said. "Guys develop at different rates and our coaching staff isn't afraid to play young players. You're going to have to go through some lumps early on through that development process, but I can't speak enough to the practice of patience, and you end up getting rewarded."

BUILDING TO WIN NOW

Holmes is always looking to improve the roster and it's something he admits he'll never feel like he can 100 percent accomplish, but this is the most talented roster he's had going into a season in his tenure.

"I think that's a completely fair statement," he said. "We started basically from scratch (in 2021). Obviously, we had more work to do on the defensive side than we did on offense, but that's been the goal and the plan is to improve every single year and we do have a better team than we did last year."

After finishing 19th in total defense, 23rd in scoring defense and 27th against the pass, Holmes knew improving the talent on that side of the ball was the top priority this offseason if the Lions are to take the next step. He traded for veteran cornerback Carlton Davis, signed veteran cornerback Amik Robertson in free agency, gave Aidan Hutchinson some help on the edge signing veteran Marcus Davenport and added one of the best defensive tackles in the league in DJ Reader in free agency.

When it came NFL Draft time, Holmes took the top two graded cornerbacks on his board – Alabama's Terrion Arnold and Missouri's Ennis Rakestraw Jr. – and both have made instant impacts in training camp.

It's a roster that on paper belongs right there with the best in the league.

"That's a fair statement to say this is the best we've been," Holmes said. "But again, I'll keep going back to the approach doesn't change because in my mind it's never a finished product."

HUNTER MENTALITY

Training camp is a week old, and the energy feels completely different at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park. Even before the pads came on for the first time Monday there was already a competitive fire that was palpable. There's a confidence about this group because they believe they have the right pieces in place to accomplish something special.

It was clear from Day 1 of camp the standard had been raised and the players have bought in. The Lions return all of their young core players and were selective with the veterans they brought in to fit the culture.

Holmes and Campbell have been deliberate to keep a hunter's mentality, despite the fact they are the reigning NFC North champs and one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. That makes them the hunted for a lot of teams.

"It's warranted and I understand and appreciate it but me and Dan we talk about it all the time. First of all, you don't want to be in the (Super Bowl) window," Holmes said. "When you start changing your approach to think like, 'Man, you're in this window or you have a target on your back now you have to start doing this and doing this and doing this different. Our approach is staying exactly the same.

"We always have to have the mentality of being the hunter. Always have to stay hungry and when you start changing that philosophy and approach of, 'Man, everyone is looking at us. Everybody is gunning at us.' Ok. Fine. It doesn't matter. The approach and the mindset doesn't matter. When you change that, man, I think you get yourself in trouble."

Holmes said the continuity on the roster and particularly the coaching staff with the return of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp helps keep the message consistent.

"It is very rare, especially with coaches the caliber that we have on our staff, to have that continuity. It is very rare," he said. "It says a lot about the organization and the culture in place and guys just love being here. I just think it's going to be a huge advantage because you aren't starting over every single year. You keep it at a certain level and build off it.

"Nothing lasts forever but as long as we're holding up our end of the bargain and the players are holding up their end of the bargain and everyone is on the same mission, which everyone has bought in, it's been cool."

It's a fun time in Detroit with a talented, young roster led by a head coach and a general manager who are in lockstep about the kind of team they want to be. It aligns with the city and fanbase that can't wait to see what comes next.