Daily after concluding an agreement with Carolina Panthers longtime general manager Marty Hurney to run their own front office, the Washington Football Team turned around a bit and appointed Martin Mayhew as GM before the 2021 season, the team announced. Hurney will be named as executive vice-president of football / player staff, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, but it is Mayhew, the former CEO of the San Francisco 49ers and former NFL cornerback, who will now lead the team with coach Ron Rivera.
“Martin is a proven general manager who will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization,” Rivera said in an official statement. “He will be an integral part of the daily football activities and will give me the opportunity to concentrate more on coaching. He impressed myself and Mr Snyder during the interview process. We both believe he will fit in very well here. He is a man of high character and integrity and was part of the rich history and tradition of this great franchise as a member of the Super Bowl Championship team in 1991. “
Previous reports have indicated that the 55-year-old Mayhew will join Washington in an executive role, but not as GM. After four seasons with the 49ers, who served as senior staff manager and vice president of player staff, he becomes the first official GM in Washington since Bruce Allen, who dropped the title in his final years with the franchise as team president. He is also the third minority GM to be employed during the 2021 off-season after Brad Holmes and Terry Fontenot.
Mayhew played nine seasons in the NFL as a backline, including with Washington from 1989-1992, a series that won a Super Bowl title in 1991. His career in the office began in 2000, as director of the football administration for the first version of the XFL that has since been revived (and resold). From 2001-2015, he rose to the Detroit Lions staff team, from senior vice president and assistant GM, before becoming Detroit’s GM – a role he held for eight seasons. After a year with the New York Giants, he joined the Niners and worked with GM John Lynch during San Francisco’s recent NFC title.
The Lions reached the playoffs in just two of Mayhew’s eight seasons as Lions GM from 2008-2015, and they combined 47-81, including 0-16 in his first year at the front.