Who is Washington Football Team GM candidate Martin Mayhew? originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Football Team is reportedly set to interview Martin Mayhew for its vacant general manager position on Friday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Washington Post was the first to report the team's interest in Mayhew.
With Mayhew on the shortlist of candidates to become Washington's next GM, here are a few things to know about the longtime NFL executive.
Playing Career
Mayhew, 55, played cornerback at Florida State University and was selected in the 10th round of the 1988 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. Mayhew would never play for the Bills, but would make his NFL debut the following season with the Washington Football Team and would spend the next four years with the Burgundy and Gold.
After four seasons in the nation's capital, Mayhew joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He would play another four years in the NFL before retiring following the 1996 season.
Work History & Notable Draft Picks
Once he retired from the NFL, Mayhew would return to school, attending Georgetown University Law Center. In 2000, he would graduate with an S.D. degree.
Mayhew would begin his career as an NFL executive one year later, where he joined the Detroit Lions as a senior director of football administration. After three years in that role, Mayhew was promoted to the Lions' senior vice president and assistant general manager.
In September of 2008, Lions' general manager Matt Millen was fired, and Mayhew took over as acting general manager. By year's end, Mayhew was given the full-time role of Detroit's GM, a title he would hold for seven years until he was fired midway through the 2015 season.
During his seven years as Detroit's general manager, Mayhew played an instrumental role in drafting quarterback Matt Stafford, who is still with the team today, as well as future Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson. The Lions would make the postseason twice over that span.
In 2016, Mayhew would serve as the director of football operations for the New York Giants. He would only remain in that role for one season before moving on to San Francisco as a senior personnel executive.
Mayhew, who has been with the 49ers organization since 2017, was promoted to Senior VP of Player Personnel ahead of the 2019 season. Mayhew was part of a 49ers football operations department that drafted Nick Bosa in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and Javon Kinlaw and Brandon Aiyuk in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
How Martin Mayhew would fit with Washington
In Washington, Mayhew would assume a role he has not held since he was in Detroit. Of course, he would work alongside head coach Ron Rivera, who has been given the ultimate say over the team's personnel decisions in a coach-centric approach similar to the one in Kansas City and Seattle.
Washington is also interviewing Tennessee Titans executive Ryan Cowden for the position, first reported by NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay.
