Fansided

Lions fire general manager Martin Mayhew

By Matt Verderame

Oct 11, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Lions won 11 games last season. Now, before their Week 9 BYE, the franchise has relieved both general manager Martin Mayhew and team president Tom Lewand of their duties with a 1-7 record.

This could have been seen coming in the previous week. The Lions fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi before they went to London and promptly got hammered by the two-win Kansas City Chiefs, 45-10. Then, on Wednesday, Caldwell started calling out the local media for being overly critical. It reeked of a man who knew change was coming, and if that was the feeling, it was correct.

Mayhew has been with the team since 2001 and was promoted to general manager in 2008 after Matt Millen was fired. The Lions have been to the playoffs twice under Mayhew, but he was also awful at giving out contracts. Mayhew botched the Ndamukong Suh situation, while also locking up Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson on cap-crippling deals.

This is what FanSided’s team site, SideLion Report, had to say about the moves:

"With a great deal of draft picks and decent cap space in 2016, it should be quite interesting to see how things change for the Lions. It’s not crazy to assume that Jim Caldwell and the entire coaching staff is next on the list."

With Mayhew gone, the Lions are yet to name an interim general manager. At 1-7, there are few reasons to believe ownership will look to make a permanent hire before the offseason. Detroit has some talent on the team, but the roster has needed to be altered badly over the past few seasons, despite the 2014 playoff appearance.

The amazing part of this is head coach Jim Caldwell surviving. Caldwell has shown zero ability to alter his gameplan and has perhaps the lowest pulse in the league, never showing an ounce of emotion. When a new general manager comes in, he is going to want his own head coach to run the show.

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