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Martin Mayhew

Pollard Alliance Releases HC Candidates List

December 7th, 2016 at 10:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation typically releases its list of recommended minority head coaching candidates in January. This year, we have an early preview of the list, courtesy of Tom Pelissero of USA Today. This year’s suggested candidates will include Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin, and Vikings DC George Edwards. Teryl Austin (vertical)

Austin was a popular candidate for coaching vacancies last year but ultimately did not find a head coaching gig. After interviewing with the Browns, Dolphins, Giants, and Eagles, Austin indicated that he felt only two of the interviews were “legitimate” while the other two were only done to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which stipulates that a minority candidate must be interviewed for every job. Since the Browns hired a black coach in Hue Jackson, Austin presumably isn’t accusing Cleveland of interviewing him to fulfill the requirement.

The Bills installed Lynn as their OC in September after ousting Greg Roman. The Bills have been up-and-down this year, but they now stand at 6-6 despite injuries to key players. Lynn has had to run the Bills’ offense without star wide receiver Sammy Watkins for much of the year and teams will certainly take notice of his capable job despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.

Goodwin has made no secret of his desire to land a head coaching job. However, there are some factors working against him. First, the Cardinals offense has struggled this season. Secondly, despite rave reviews from those around him, Goodwin does not call the plays in Arizona, and that could deter interested teams.

Edwards was placed on the Pollard list for the first time last year and he returns this season. Like Goodwin, he does not call plays for his team despite the coordinator title. However, he comes with a strong recommendation from head coach Mike Zimmer and he did call the plays against the Cowboys when Zimmer was recovering from surgery. With Edwards at the wheel, the Vikings allowed just 17 points against one of the league’s most electric offenses.

The foundation also released a list of general manager candidates including Giants VP of player evaluation Marc Ross, Raiders director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales, former Lions GM and current Giants exec Martin Mayhew, and Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown.

Giants Hire Ex-Lions GM Martin Mayhew

February 11th, 2016 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Giants have added a former general manager to their front office today, announcing in a press release that they’ve hired Martin Mayhew as their director of football operations/special projects. It’s Mayhew’s first job since the Lions let him go from his GM position in November.Martin Mayhew

According to the Giants’ announcement, Mayhew will work closely with assistant general manager Kevin Abrams on cap issues and contract negotiations. Mayhew will also handle special projects assigned by GM Jerry Reese.

The Lions and Giants essentially completed a swap of front office executives, since Mayhew is replacing former Giants director of football operations Matt Harriss. The Lions signed Harris, who is expected to play a significant role in managing the team’s salary cap, as their VP of football administration last month.

Mayhew, who was named the Lions’ permanent GM in 2008, spent 15 years in total with the franchise, and had his ups and downs during his time in Detroit. The team earned postseason berths in 2011 and 2014, but never made it out of the first round during Mayhew’s tenure as GM, and finished below .500 in all of his non-playoff seasons.

Before he was hired by the Giants, Mayhew also interviewed for the Titans’ general manager job in January, and was reportedly considered for a football operations job in the Browns’ front office.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Hickey, Jaguars, Winslow, Flacco

January 21st, 2016 at 9:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Former Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey interviewed to be the Browns Vice President of Player Personnel, reports Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Miami had parted ways with Hickey earlier this month.

Earlier today, we learned Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta were seeking a personnel executive for their front office, although they weren’t going to label the position “general manager.” Hickey would presumably be up for that role, as the 44-year-old has spent more than two decades in NFL front offices.

Cabot tweets that former Eagles Director of Pro Personnel Rick Mueller is also on the Browns’ radar for the same position, and former Lions general manager Martin Mayhew is also reportedly a candidate for the job.

Let’s take a look at some more notes from around the league…

  • The Jaguars will be promoting Mark Ellenz to their director of college scouting, reports Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). Ellenz will be replacing Kyle O’Brien, who became the Lions Director of Player Personnel last week.
  • After having caught 469 passes for 5,236 yards and 25 touchdowns, Kellen Winslow II hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2013. However, a recent tweet by the 32-year-old suggests that the tight end is looking to make a comeback. “I’m putting my life’s work into this comeback. #LoveDaGame #NFL,” Winslow tweeted. Furthermore, a representative for the player told TMZ.com that the former first-rounder is attempting a comeback (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com).
  • Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is signed through 2018, and his cap number won’t dip below $24MM over the next few seasons. The veteran recognizes how this number could restrict his team’s ability to make moves, and he indicated that he may be willing to rework his contract. “We haven’t talked about it yet,” Flacco said on WBAL (via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun on Twitter). “I know it’s a huge number. I’m open to doing something. I want to be here for a while.”

Browns Rumors: Manziel, QB, Mayhew, DC

January 14th, 2016 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Browns hired Hue Jackson as their new head coach, we heard almost immediately that the former Bengals offensive coordinator had made it clear he was prepared to move on from former first-round pick Johnny Manziel. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) echoes that sentiment, suggesting that the young signal-caller is “all but gone,” and it’s just a formality at this point that Cleveland will part ways with him.

According to Cole, the Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, are strongly considering using that selection on a quarterback, whether it’s Jared Goff, Paxton Lynch, or someone else. Waiting until the second round to nab a QB is also an option for Cleveland — it’s worth noting that, with the Browns and Titans flip-flopping in the second round, and the Patriots not having their first-round pick this year, Cleveland’s second pick will be 32nd overall, essentially making it a first-rounder.

Here are a few more Browns updates:

  • The Browns are attempting to move quickly to fill the vacancy in their front office, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com, who tweets that former Lions GM Martin Mayhew is a candidate for the job.
  • The opening in the Browns’ front office is a top personnel position, but not technically a general manager job, which means other teams will have more leeway to deny requests to interview their executives. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), that has already happened with the Bears — the Browns requested permission to speak to Bears director of college scouting Joe Douglas, and Chicago turned them down.
  • Earlier this afternoon, we learned that Titans defensive coordinator Ray Horton is considered a top candidate for the Browns’ defensive coordinator job, if Tennessee is willing to let him go. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link) hears that Buccaneers DC Leslie Frazier is also a candidate for the same position in Cleveland.
  • The Browns won’t retain quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell, according to Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. While O’Connell did a decent job with Manziel this past season, Jackson wants to pick his own guy for the job.

Latest On Titans’ General Manager Search

January 6th, 2016 at 7:47pm CST by Luke Adams

7:47pm: The Titans announced that they interviewed Martin Mayhew for their GM position today, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

Jaguars director of pro scouting Chris Polian will interview with the Titans on Friday for their open GM job, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com writes. Meanwhile, Buccaneers Director Player Personnel Jon Robinson has been given the OK to interview for the Titans’ GM job, Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune tweets. Robinson, a Tennessee native, was mentioned as a potential candidate for the job shortly after Ruston Webster was let go.

2:40pm: When we last checked in on the Titans’ hunt for a new general manager, the team was in the process of scheduling an interview with Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, and was aiming high by targeting Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta, who typically turns down requests for interviews.

Unsurprisingly, DeCosta has indeed declined the opportunity to interview for the GM position in Tennessee, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, who tweets that the veteran Ravens executive will be staying put in Baltimore. Presumably, the Titans expected that outcome, but figured it didn’t hurt to ask.

Along those same lines, the Titans are one of two teams – along with the Lions – that hopes to interview Vikings assistant general manager George Paton, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Paton is another executive who rarely explores the opportunity to leave his current organization, so it seems unlikely that he’ll pursue the Titans’ job, but it sounds like he hasn’t officially said no yet.

As for Ross, a candidate who definitely will be meeting with the Titans, his interview is scheduled for Thursday, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Lions Fire Martin Mayhew, Tom Lewand

November 5th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

1:11pm: Speaking to the media this afternoon, Martha Ford announced that Sheldon White, the Lions’ director of pro personnel, will act as interim general manager. Allison Maki will be the acting COO, and there will be no changes to the coaching staff at this time, per Ford (link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com). The team will soon begin a search for candidates to fill the positions permanently.

11:16am: The Lions’ front office received a major shake-up today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the organization has parted ways with general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand.Martin Mayhew

Just 10 days ago, the Lions made significant changes to their coaching staff, firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and a pair of offensive line coaches. Detroit had hoped the changes to the offensive coaching staff would jump-start the team, but reports in the wake of those moves suggested it was possible those wouldn’t be the last ones made by the team this season.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network noted at the time (via Twitter) that there had been “rumblings around the league about larger-scale changes in Detroit,” since Martha Ford is now in charge of the ownership group, and observers weren’t sure what to expect from her. It now appears those rumblings were well-founded, as ownership is making large-scale changes to the organizational structure.

While teams typically wait until the offseason to replace general managers and other decision-makers in the front office, the Lions had been one of the most underachieving teams in the NFL this season, and it appeared to be just a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. Coming off an 11-5 campaign that earned them a playoff berth in 2014, the Lions are off to a league-worst 1-7 start this year, and have been outscored by 96 points in just eight games.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), there’s a “total wipeout” happening in Detroit today, with bosses “going through the building deciding who stays and goes.” So it appears Mayhew and Lewand won’t be the only casualties.

For now, head coach Jim Caldwell still has his job, though he’s hardly a lock to keep it. The Lions may want to identify a new general manager before replacing Caldwell, to give that new GM an opportunity to make the decision on Caldwell’s future, and potentially to hire his own man for the job.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets that one “hot” name for the Lions’ GM vacancy – at least on an interim basis – is Brian Xanders, who is currently a senior personnel executive for the club. Whoever takes over that role will have several key decisions to make in the coming months, including deciding whether to extend Haloti Ngata, and possibly addressing Matthew Stafford‘s and Calvin Johnson‘s contracts. Stafford has been extremely inconsistent this season and is owed a non-guaranteed $17MM base salary in 2016, while Megatron’s cap number is set to leap to $24MM+.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

GM: Lions Buyers, Not Sellers, At Deadline

October 30th, 2015 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

No team in the NFL has a record worse than the Lions’ 1-6 mark, but that doesn’t mean Detroit is packing it in for the season. Speaking today in London, general manager Martin Mayhew told reporters, including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, that his club won’t go into rebuilding mode at next week’s trade deadline.

“We’re going to be probably more buyers than sellers and we’ve had some dialogue already about some guys around the league,” Mayhew said. “So we’re actively looking at those situations.”

Given the Lions’ record, Mayhew’s comments don’t make a ton of sense. Detroit would have to win just about all of its remaining games to contend for a playoff spot, so the GM insisting that the team is a buyer, rather than a seller, suggests he’s under some pressure to win now. For what it’s worth, Birkett notes that Mayhew “sounded like a man fighting to keep his job” during his conversation with the media.

According to Birkett, Mayhew also addressed the recent coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball, suggesting that former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and the two offensive line coaches that were let go shouldn’t shoulder all the responsibility for the Lions’ poor season.

“Everybody’s involved in what has happened thus far this season, especially myself,” Mayhew said. “I’m responsible for our football operations, so it is on me what has happened this season. So it certainly is not those three guys (that were fired) are not the problem, they’re not the sole problem. There’s a lot of things we need to do to get better.”

Mayhew, who looked to his watch for effect today when he said that he’s “the GM right now,” has a history of being active on the trade market. In a league that typically doesn’t see many deadline deals, Mayhew has completed three in the last seven years. The Lions GM has also consummated eight trades so far in 2015, so we’ll see if he adds to that total by next Tuesday.

NFC Notes: Chip, Payton, Caldwell, RGIII

October 16th, 2015 at 5:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before joining the Eagles in 2013, Chip Kelly was one of college football’s premier head coaches. Kelly led Oregon to a 46-7 record and three top five finishes from 2009-12, but his reign in Philadelphia hasn’t gone as well – particularly since he took control of the roster last offseason. Thus, some are wondering whether he’ll return to the college ranks – specifically to USC, a high-profile program on the hunt for a new head coach. If you’re to believe Kelly, it’s not going to happen, and neither he nor his Eagles players are fazed by the speculation, writes Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“We know that he’s fully invested in this program,” said tight end Zach Ertz. “He’s changed so much of the culture here; we know he wants to ride this thing out, and at the end of the day, hopefully, win a Super Bowl.”

Added Kelly, who denied having any contact with USC: “I know you have an obligation, and I understand that it’s going to happen (when) we’re not successful and we’re not winning – I came from college, (therefore) I’m going to go back to college. I hope someday to be like (Giants coach Tom) Coughlin and win enough games where I can stay around . . . without speculation.”
Here’s more from around the NFC:
  • Not surprisingly, the Saints’ unimpressive roster, less-than-ideal cap situation, and the appeal of some potentially vacant head coaching positions after this season could lead to Sean Payton‘s departure from New Orleans, per Albert Breer of NFL.com.
  • Although he helped lead the Lions to an 11-5 finish and a playoff berth last year, this season’s 0-5 start combined with the ownership structure in Detroit could spell bad news for head coach Jim Caldwell, according to Breer. William Clay Ford and William Clay Ford, Jr. were responsible for hiring Caldwell in 2014. The elder of the two has since passed away, and the younger has relinquished much of the control over the team to his mother, Martha. The fate of Caldwell and general manager Martin Mayhew lies in her hands, and she could elect to make a change.
  • Washington has no shortage of injuries as it prepares for its game against the Jets this weekend. That means third-string quarterback and 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III might dress for the first time this season, ESPN’s John Keim reports (via Twitter). Of course, with both Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy ahead of Griffin on the depth chart, it’s highly unlikely he’ll see action.
  • Saints offensive tackle Andrus Peat suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the team’s 31-21 win over Atlanta on Thursday, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Per Getlin, Peat won’t need surgery, but he’ll miss approximately four weeks. The rookie first-rounder has appeared in all six of the Saints’ games this year, starting three.

Martin Mayhew on Ihedigbo, Gurley, Draft

April 25th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Rob DiRe

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has the very difficult task of keeping the team in the playoffs despite losing their stud defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley this offseason.

Here are a few topics Mayhew weighs in on as he tries to keep the team competitive with the Packers in the NFC North, and among the top teams in the conference. :

On safety James Ihedigbo skipping spring workouts (via Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press):

These workouts are voluntary. As we talked last year, there was a guy (Suh) who missed last year, and you guys were irate. And I told you then it was voluntary. It’s voluntary now. I look forward to talking with James. I understand what he’s going through. I’ve been through that myself as a player, when I felt like, at a time in my career, that I was underpaid and I had to deal with that. So I have empathy for him and I understand what he’s going through. I look forward to sitting down and talking with him. I have great respect for him as a player, as a man. I’ve got to know him a little bit away from football, and I understand how he feels and I look forward to sitting down and talking with him, at some point.

On Georgia running back Todd Gurley (via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com):

I will sort of equate it to the character situation. Every individual player should be evaluated on his own merits. I wouldn’t just say this guy had an Achilles tear, so he’s off our board. You know, where is he in that process? How long ago was that? How did he perform last year? Who was his surgeon who did his surgery? How is he in the rehab process? Where is he right now? Every single guy is evaluated on his own merits and what his situation is specifically.

On trade activity during the NFL Draft (via Justin Rogers of MLive.com):

I made the point at the league meeting that we’ve never started a draft and finished a draft with the same picks, so I think we’ll have a different number of picks at the end of this draft. Frequently, we’ll be very comfortable that there are going to be a number of players where we are on the board and we’ll stay put, or if we feel like our guys are going ahead of us then we’ll move up. If we feel like there are a number of guys that are behind us that we’d like to have or guys within our range — if we have 10 players and we can go back eight spots and get one of those guys. So, it really varies depending on what’s going on with that particular draft.

On trading picks for veterans in the later rounds of the draft:

I think early on that was something a lot of times that we did because of the difficulty of signing those guys as free agents. I think we’re in a place now where we have a pretty solid core of quality players and we really want to add some youth to that group. I think the draft is the best way to do that.

Owner/GM Quotes: Lions, Patriots, Colts, Seahawks

March 23rd, 2015 at 7:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The NFL’s owner meetings were held earlier today, giving the league’s various reporters an opportunity to talk to owners and general managers. We’ve compiled notable quotes regarding some of the offseason’s biggest moves, which you can find below…

Lions GM Martin Mayhew on his team’s outlook following Ndamukong Suh‘s departure (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press):

“I think anytime you lose a quality player like that, especially in the short term, that is to your detriment. I think in the long term, I think we’re going to be glad we don’t have that contract on our books. But in the short term, that’s an issue.”

“There’s a lot of different ways to give somebody $100 million, so a lot of times the structure comes into play, too, and all those things matter. But I know we have some quality players on our team that we probably couldn’t keep if we had that deal on our books.”

“I couldn’t say we misjudged anything about (the situation). I think every step throughout the process I think we made a rational, thoughtful decision to move forward and then I think it got to a point where economically in terms of building a sustainable quality football team it didn’t make sense. And at that point, we decided that we weren’t going to continue to offer more.”

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