Lions GM: Five potential candidates

The Detroit Lions fired general manager Martin Mayhew on Thursday morning, moving on from a front office that reached the postseason with an 11-5 record last year. It is a shocker out of the Motor City, if for no other reason the history of the organization.

The Lions have always been known as a very patient team, and considering their recent success, moves were not expected. However, the Ford family has clearly run out of patience and wants a team that will contend on a regular basis. Detroit has never won a Super Bowl, never appeared in one and has not won an NFL championship since 1957 when Hall of Famer was the quarterback.

Mayhew had been with the organization since 2001 and was promoted in Dec. 2008 to general manager when Matt Millen was fired. Mayhew reached the postseason twice but has been under fire in recent years for his lack of handling the salary cap. Mayhew doled out huge contracts to quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson, which absolutely crippled the salary cap.

Then, this past offseason, Mayhew was all but forced to let defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh leave after failing to extend his contract the previous summer. Suh’s franchise tag would have cost approximately $27 million, and once he hit free agency he was as good as gone. Mayhew then doubled down, losing Nick Fairley in free agency.

With Mayhew now out of the picture, these are five potential replacements.

Next: Scott Pioli