Behind every NFL success story is a family that helped pave the way. For Brad Holmes, the Detroit Lions‘ General Manager, that family legacy begins with his father, Melvin Holmes. A former Steelers defensive tackle, Melvin’s gridiron grit and determination instilled in Brad the skills and passion that propelled him to the top of the NFL’s management ranks.

On the other hand, there is Brad’s mother Joan Holmes Mosley whose intense “family value system” has solidified Brad’s work ethic to a great extent. So, get ready to meet the Holmes family, where football, education, and dedication to work is a generational tradition.

Meet Melvin Holmes, Brad Holmes’ father

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive lineman Melvin Holmes, who played from 1971 to 1973, is Brad Holmes’ father. Melvin constantly made sure his son had the newest and coolest items—fiberglass skateboards and brand-new dirt motorcycles that made him the talk of the neighborhood. However, Brad Holmes, the General Manager of the Detroit Lions, will always cherish the weight set his father Melvin gave him when he was in the eighth grade.

He kept the weights at his Florida home on the screened-in rear patio. In high school, he was a regular workout partner with them. Most significantly, he remembered the lesson his father taught him that day through his gift.

“He told me, back then he goes, ‘Brad, it’s not about what you’re doing when everybody’s watching, it’s about what you’re doing when nobody’s watching,’” Holmes recalled. “Cause you can work out with the team or whatever, or practice and all that stuff, and he said it’ll be all about what you’re doing when no one’s watching. And I’ll never forget that. And just the work ethic part of it, that’s kind of what he instilled in me.”

Brad’s mother, Joan Holmes Mosley, recalled how football was the thread that wove Brad and his father together during Brad’s formative years. Football wasn’t just a game; it was their language, a bond that deepened with each shared moment. Melvin, with his vast knowledge of the sport, would often watch games with Brad, passing on his wisdom about players and strategies.

When Brad took to the field himself, his father was a quiet presence in the stands, observing with pride. He saved his insights and advice for the car ride home, where father and son would dissect the game together. Brad’s admiration for his father led him to follow Melvin Holmes’s path to his alma mater, initially pursuing a business major. But Joan, recognizing Brad’s unique talents, gently steered him towards a future in marketing or communications.

Last Christmas, Joan gifted Brad a cherished memory—a framed photo of young Brad sitting on his father’s lap, dressed in Pittsburgh Steelers pajamas, his eyes full of wonder and a soft smile on his face. The picture, a snapshot of innocence and the early days of a lifelong passion, now hangs as a reminder of the bond between father and son.

As Melvin’s health began to decline in his later years, Brad made it a priority to check in on his father regularly. When he passed away on Christmas Eve in 2015, Joan was in the process of arranging for a local minister to officiate the funeral. That’s when Brad stepped forward, expressing his desire to deliver the eulogy himself. He honored his father with a heartfelt tribute, sharing stories of the love and guidance Melvin had provided throughout his life.

Just like his father’s influence, Brad Holmes also owes a lot to his mother and the cultural values she instilled in him.

Brad Holmes’ grandparents’ family value system has molded his personality

Joan Holmes Mosley claimed to have a deep bond with her parents and to have internalized the moral principles they instilled in Brad Holmes. “My parents’ background really created the whole culture for our family,” the 72-year-old Holmes Mosley spoke about her father, Luther Bradley Sr., an educator who moved from South Carolina to Muncie, Indiana, where he worked as a pioneering athletics coach before becoming a longstanding school administrator. Her mother, Edna Bradley, was a teacher. “They grew up in the Southern, post-Jim Crow era when Blacks were still basically denied access to everything. So, when you’re told you can’t have something, you want it that much more and education was very important to them.“

Holmes Mosley refers to her “family code name” as “Dr. J” or “Dr. Jay,” which her close friends and family may use to identify her PhD in educational leadership. This further demonstrates the family’s dedication to education. All of Holmes Mosley’s siblings have actually attended college: her two brothers, Luther Bradley (a former defensive back for the Detroit Lions) and Everett Bradley (a Grammy-nominated rock percussionist), who received undergraduate degrees from Notre Dame and Indiana, respectively; Melody Haynes, who has used her master’s degree to work in banking; and Lucinda Barron, a professor at South Carolina State who positively impacted many students in the family’s home state.

Then there are the college degrees that the children of Holmes Mosley obtained from North Carolina A&T. Tara Gibson received an industrial engineering degree from the university, which she currently uses in her management role with the Federal Aviation Administration, and Brad Holmes graduated cum laude with a degree in journalism and mass communications. The degrees that the offspring of Holmes Mosley’s siblings have earned should be added, and this will create a strong group of academics.

Joan Holmes Mosely describes herself as the “proudest mom ever” because of the accomplishments her son, Brad Holmes, the executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Lions, has made outside of football. But Holmes Mosley asserts that her family’s philosophy of life is not without nuance.

“My father was an ‘Education or nothing’ type of guy, so there was never any question of if you were going to college, it was always ‘When will you go?’” Holmes Mosley, whose professional journey in education included being the assistant dean of the graduate school at the University of South Florida, said. However, she further explained that in spite of being educated, they were not privileged. Having a work ethic was a must along with education and they all have worked hard to make a solid position for themselves. Only for this “systemic value system,” Brad Holmes is also a “workaholic” person.

Growing up, Holmes was characterized by his mother Joan as being “very social” and having strong leadership qualities. Holmes was a charming football player, jersey wearer, and homecoming king in high school. “Brad has pretty much lived, eaten, and breathed football,” Joan said. “In our family, he’s perceived as kind of a walking encyclopedia of every aspect of football. And as you probably read, we come from a very proud football family, so his whole DNA has been football.”