Mayhew, a former NFL player and executive who spent over a decade with the Detroit Lions, has announced his retirement from the league.
He served as the Lions’ general manager for seven seasons, from 2008 to 2015, and finished his career as a senior personnel executive and advisor to the general manager with the Washington Commanders. This last year followed a couple of seasons as Washington’s general manager, but he chose to remain with the team where he played and won a Super Bowl in 1992, helping to move the franchise forward.
Mayhew was promoted to general manager during the Lions’ notorious 0-16 season. Three years later, he had helped the team return to the playoffs, laying a foundation with high draft picks like Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and Ndamukong Suh, briefly renewing hope for the franchise.
The Lions made the playoffs again in 2014 under Mayhew. However, after a 1-7 start in 2015, including a 45-10 blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in London, the Lions made significant changes in the front office.
After leaving Detroit, Mayhew worked for the New York Giants as director of football operations for a year before joining the San Francisco 49ers. He spent four years with the 49ers, moving from senior personnel executive to vice president of player personnel, before returning to Washington to finish his career.
The Commanders concluded Mayhew’s tenure with a strong performance, upsetting the top-seeded Lions in the divisional round and advancing to the NFC Championship game with a rookie head coach and quarterback.
Commanders general manager Adam Peters reflected on his relationship with Mayhew, recalling their first connection when Mayhew was with the Lions and Peters wrote letters to NFL front office staff while at UCLA. “He was a great coworker, confidant, and friend,” Peters said at the NFL combine.
“He gave 26 years to this league, both as a player and GM. When I joined the Commanders, he was one of the first people I wanted to work with. I was fortunate he stayed, and we couldn’t have had the success we did last year without him. His contributions to the draft, free agency, and major deals were invaluable, and he was a great person to work with.”
