Washington appoints former Niners, Lions execute Martin Mayhew as new general manager, reports show

Days after apparently finalizing a deal with longtime Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney to run their own front office, the Washington football team turned the tide and named Martin Mayhew their forward general manager. the 2021 season, according to ESPN and NFL Network. Hurney will have a “high profile front office role,” according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, but Mayhew, the former San Francisco 49ers executive and former NFL cornerback, will now lead the team. alongside coach Ron Rivera.

Previous reports indicated Mayhew, 55, would join Washington in an executive role, but not as a chief executive. After four seasons with the 49ers, as a senior staff executive and vice president of player personnel, he becomes the first official GM in Washington since Bruce Allen, who lost the title in his final years with the franchise. as team president. He is also the third minority general manager to be hired in the 2021 offseason after Brad Holmes and Terry Fontenot.

Mayhew spent nine seasons playing in the NFL as a cornerback, including with Washington from 1989 to 1992, a period that included a Super Bowl title in 1991. His front-office career began in 2000, in as director of football administration for the first rendition of the XFL since relaunched (and resold) From 2001 to 2015, he ascended to the Detroit Lions staff squad from senior vice president and assistant general manager before becoming General Manager of Detroit – a role he held for eight seasons. After a year with the New York Giants, he joined the Niners, working alongside general manager John Lynch in San Francisco’s recent NFC title race.

The Lions made the playoffs in just two of Mayhew’s eight seasons as Lions general manager from 2008 to 2015, scoring 47-81, including 0-16 in his first year at the front office.