The Detroit Lions announced a wave of front office changes on Wednesday, and one thing jumped out above everything else: the sheer volume of NFL experience Brad Holmes has assembled around him. Detroit’s front office is stacked with decades of scouting, roster-building, and general manager experience, and the newest addition drives that point home in a big way.

The Lions hired former Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier as a personnel advisor. Grier spent 25 years with the Dolphins organization, starting in 2000. He served as Miami’s general manager for several years and played a significant role in building that roster during a stretch when the Dolphins looked like legitimate contenders before injuries and other issues derailed things.

The GMs

There’s a Detroit tie here, too. Grier was with the Dolphins when Lions coach Dan Campbell was on Miami’s coaching staff. He was there when Campbell served as the Dolphins’ interim head coach in 2015, and Grier played a role in making that happen. When Grier took over as GM the following year, he did not retain Campbell as head coach, but he at least interviewed him. The two have a history, and that matters.

On top of Grier, the Lions still have John Dorsey in the building. Dorsey has been doing this for more than 30 years. He’s been the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns. He worked in Green Bay’s personnel department for years before either of those stops. So Holmes now has two former general managers flanking him in Grier and Dorsey. Just between those two, you’re talking about more than 50 years of NFL experience.

The depth doesn’t stop there

Go down the rest of the line and the experience keeps piling up. Ray Agnew, the Lions’ assistant general manager. Agnew played in the league for 11 years and has spent years in scouting and personnel departments. He helped build the Rams roster into what it became during their run.

Dwayne Joseph, now the Lions’ vice president of player personnel, has been working in the NFL for more than 25 years. He’s worked for the Bears, Dolphins, Eagles, Raiders, and now Detroit. Rob Lohman, now the vice president of roster operations and evaluations, has been in NFL personnel for more than 25 years and has been with the Lions since 2007.Mark Olson, the assistant director of college scouting, has been working in scouting for nearly 30 years.

Add all of that up. Holmes is not sitting in a room surrounded by people who are learning how the NFL works. He’s got former general managers. He’s got former players. He’s got guys who have run scouting departments. He’s got guys who have been evaluating NFL players since some of the guys on this Lions roster weren’t even born yet.

What this says about Holmes

Here’s the thing: Holmes doesn’t need another former general manager in the building. He’s entering his sixth season running the team. He’s built a roster that completely changed how people view the Lions. He’s established his own scouting philosophies and his own way of doing things. Other teams are trying to replicate what Detroit has built. But adding more experienced voices to the room is about collaboration, not insecurity. It’s more helping hands, more good voices, more experience. And that’s a really good way to go about it.

You think about some of the Lions’ past general managers who went about business as if they were the smartest person in the room and didn’t listen to their scouts. Matt Millen is the obvious example. People were pounding the table for the Lions to take other players, and Millen very classically took the guys nobody was pounding the table for.

This is a very different approach. It says a lot about the Lions organization, and it says a lot about Holmes. By all appearances, he’s not buying into his own hype. He’s willing to listen, willing to surround himself with people who will collaborate with him on how to build this team. That goes a long way.