The Washington football team is hiring Martin Mayhew as its new general manager, a source told ESPN on Thursday, and added another experienced voice to help coach Ron Rivera.
Mayhew led the 16th. Janvier had an interview with Rivera and has long been considered a strong candidate. Among other notable interviews, Washington also spoke with Ryan Cowden, vice president of player personnel for Tennessee, Nick Polk, director of football operations for Atlanta, and JoJo Wooden, director of player personnel for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Mayhew has many years of experience in the front office and has also developed a reputation for working with head coaches. Rivera has power in Washington, so the CEO will report to him. He and Mayhew share the same agent, but Mayhew also brings a wealth of experience. He was Detroit’s general manager from 2008 to 2015, following eight years at the Lions’ headquarters. Rivera said he needed someone who could also handle the administrative duties of the position.
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Washington is also expected to hire former Carolina chief executive officer Marty Hurney, though one source said his role has yet to be determined. Those details were still being worked out Thursday night. ESPN had previously reported that Hurney was believed to be Washington’s GM after Monday’s meeting with Rivera, a major power broker in the football arena. Herney was part of the group that hired Rivera in Carolina; he was fired in 2012 but returned in 17 for Rivera’s final three seasons. Hurney covered the Washington franchise for the Washington Times in the late 1980s before joining the organization’s public relations department.
Mayhew was named GM of Detroit in late 2008 after the Lions finished the 0-16 season. Detroit was 8-24 in the first two seasons. The Lions did it post-season in 2011 and 2014, the only two years they won during his term. Overall, Detroit did 41-63 in seven and a half seasons.
Mayhew hired Jim Caldwell in 2014 to replace the first coach he hired, Jim Schwartz. Detroit fired Mayhew midway through the 2015 season. But Caldwell’s attitude paid off: Detroit finished three winning seasons in Caldwell’s four-year term with two playoff appearances. It was the first time Detroit won two seasons in a row since 1994-95.
A man who trained under Mayhew described him as intelligent, analytical, calm and collected. He had his disagreements, but it didn’t lead to controversy. He also stated that Mr. Mayhew sometimes lacks intuition for the players, but felt the problem could be alleviated if one of his staff members provided that quality.
Mayhew was Director of Football Operations for the New York Giants in 2016 and moved to the San Francisco headquarters a year later. He spent two years as an executive and the last two years as Vice President of Player Personnel.
Mayhew played four years on defense for Washington, winning the Super Bowl in the 1991 season. His stay in Washington was sandwiched between a season in Buffalo and four in Tampa Bay.
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