The Washington football team is hiring Martin Mayhew as its new general manager, a source told ESPN on Thursday, adding another experienced voice to help coach Ron Rivera.
Mayhew interviewed Rivera on January 16 and had long been considered a strong candidate. Among other known interviews, Washington also spoke with Ryan Cowden, Tennessee’s vice president of personnel, Nick Polk, director of football operations in Atlanta, and JoJo Wooden, director of personnel for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Mayhew had a longer track record in the front offices and had also earned a reputation for working with his head coaches. In Washington, Rivera has the power, so the general manager will report to him. He and Mayhew share the same agent, but Mayhew also brings a wealth of experience. He served as Detroit’s general manager from 2008-15 – after eight years in the Lions front office. Rivera said he wants someone who can also perform the administrative duties of the position.
Washington is also expected to hire former Carolina CEO Marty Hurney, although his role has not yet been specified according to a source. These details were still being worked out on Thursday night. ESPN had previously reported that Hurney was expected to become GM in Washington after meeting with Rivera, the main football power broker, on Monday. Hurney was part of the group that hired Rivera in Carolina; was fired in 2012, but returned in ’17 for Rivera’s last three seasons. Hurney covered the Washington franchise for the Washington Times in the late 1980s, before joining the organization’s public relations group.
Mayhew was named GM Detroit in late 2008 after the Lions finished the season 0-16. Detroit was 8-24 in its first two seasons. The Lions made the postseason in 2011 and ’14, the only two years they had a winning record during his tenure. Overall, Detroit went 41-63 in the seven and a half seasons.
Mayhew hired Jim Caldwell in 2014 to replace the first coach he had signed, Jim Schwartz. Detroit fired Mayhew in the middle of the 2015 season. But Caldwell’s hiring paid off: Detroit finished with three winning seasons in Caldwell’s four years with two playoff appearances. It was the first time Detroit had won consecutive seasons in 1994-95.
One person who trained under Mayhew called him “smart, analytical, balanced” and someone who remained calm. He was able to disagree without becoming a divisor. He also said that Mayhew sometimes lacked a sense of gut for players, but considered that the problem could be reduced if someone else from his staff provided this quality.
Mayhew was the director of football operations for the New York Giants in 2016, before joining the San Francisco office a year later. He spent two years as a senior executive and the last two as vice president of the players’ staff.
Mayhew played four years as a defensive back in Washington, winning a Super Bowl in the 1991 season. His time in Washington was between one season in Buffalo and four in Tampa Bay.