A New Start! (the Reboot) The Front Office, Ownership, & Coaching Staff Thread

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

2 minutes ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

I know some are optimistic but going into this process with all the names involved, a Hurney/Mayhew combo was not only the obvious nepotism chalk pick but also my worst case scenario of all the names we were connected with. It doesn’t feel good to be able to see it coming from a mile away and then to watch it happen.

 

I'm a little out of the loop here, how is Mayhew nepotism?  I'm looking at his wikipedia page and I'm not seeing an obvious link between him and anyone else.

[Est.1974]

3 minutes ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

I know some are optimistic but going into this process with all the names involved, a Hurney/Mayhew combo was not only the obvious nepotism chalk pick but also my worst case scenario of all the names we were connected with. It doesn’t feel good to be able to see it coming from a mile away and then to watch it happen.

Yes, I think that is a fair statement. 

[JoggingGod]

2 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

I'm a little out of the loop here, how is Mayhew nepotism?  I'm looking at his wikipedia page and I'm not seeing an obvious link between him and anyone else.

He has no connection to Ron lol

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

4 minutes ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

I know some are optimistic but going into this process with all the names involved, a Hurney/Mayhew combo was not only the obvious nepotism chalk pick but also my worst case scenario of all the names we were connected with. It doesn’t feel good to be able to see it coming from a mile away and then to watch it happen.

Agreed, but particularly on the bolded part.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of us have seen a lot of meh or outright crappy moves coming from a mile away when it pertains to this organization.  So this just feels like more of the same, with the only exception being the moves were made by Ron Rivera vs. an executive gump in Ashburn.

 

I still like Ron and obviously wish for the best, but I'd be lying if I said this doesn't have the smell of mediocre all over it.

[Conn]

16 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

I'm a little out of the loop here, how is Mayhew nepotism?  I'm looking at his wikipedia page and I'm not seeing an obvious link between him and anyone else.

He’s another former WAS player who has connections to the org. Not as much or as hard to dislodge as a Doug Williams, but still. I don’t like when there’s an entire hiring and interview process of qualified candidates to be done and the names everyone assumed from the jump would be the guys who would be willing to work in this structure are the names we hire. Immediately we were connected to these guys because it was suspected they would be willing to take jobs that don’t come with final say on the roster, and wouldn’t be getting jobs elsewhere. And here we are. It may work out, but it doesn’t feel good.

Edited January 20, 2021 by ConnSKINS26

[Cooleyfan1993]

Rivera said he wanted more experience in the front office. Both hurney and mayhew have 60 combined seasons in the NFL. And both brought super bowl appearances to their teams. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

6 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

I'm a little out of the loop here, how is Mayhew nepotism?  I'm looking at his wikipedia page and I'm not seeing an obvious link between him and anyone else.

Not so much nepotism, but he was linked to the GM search here early on along with Hurney, before the season ended.  I believe there was a report linking us to hiring 2 'GM' like positions, with the frontrunners being Hurney and Mayhew.  Making it all seem like it was choregraphed from the start where there was no real chance to get some young up and coming blood in here.  

 

Something I always think about with decisions like these is....was anyone else calling or offering these guys jobs?  Sort of like when we brought Bruce on.  The answer is no.  

 

You can all feel free to convince yourselves that these moves are awesome, in Ron we trust and all that jazz.  I hope you're right.  I have no ill-will towards either Hurney or Mayhew, it's just starting to look like too many chefs in the kitchen, known to serve sort of bland food.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

4 minutes ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

He’s another former WAS player who has connections to the org. Not as much or as hard to dislodge as a Doug Williams, but still. I don’t like when there’s an entire hiring and interview process of qualified candidates to be done and the names everyone assumed from the jump would be the guys who would be willing to work in this structure are the names we hire. 

 

So you think Snyder told Rivera to hire Mayhew, to relive a connection with the 1991 Super Bowl team?  There's nobody else in the building that knows Mayhew.  I don't think Doug Williams and Mayhew overlapped right?  Even if they did, I feel pretty confident in saying that Doug Williams has no sway/power/influence over decisions that Rivera does.  For example, Rivera demoted Doug after meeting him.

 

I'm not seeing the nepotism angle.  I think that's a stretch...unless you believe Rivera is a figure head and Snyder is still calling all of the shots.

[Skinsinparadise]

https://riggosrag.com/2021/01/20/washington-football-team-to-hire-martin-mayhew-in-front-office-role/

What Martin Mayhew brings to the Washington Football Team

Mayhew is an experienced scout and recently helped turn the San Francisco 49ers into a Super Bowl contender. San Francisco’s build mirrored Washington’s current build in many ways, as the 49ers built up a strong defense and then worked on the offense. Washington will be asked to do the same and like the 49ers, they do have key questions at the quarterback spot.

In addition to his work with the 49ers, Mayhew served as the Lions’ GM from 2008 to 2015. He never was able to build the Lions into a true contender and had his share of struggles in trying to rebuild the team, but given that the Lions were en route to an 0-16 season when he took over in late ’08, the fact that he led them to a 10-win season in 2011 is impressive. And he did add some key players and building blocks to the squad, especially via the draft.

Most notably, Mayhew’s first selection with the Lions was Matthew Stafford. His connections to the veteran quarterback could prove valuable to Washington, as Stafford represents a good trade target for the squad. They are focused on upgrading the QB spot, after all, and Stafford would certainly do that.

Mayhew’s track record isn’t perfect, but having a second man with GM experience in the front office is good news for Washington. The team was lacking a bit in the experience department before the hires of Hurney and Mayhew, so adding them should help balance things a bit more, provided that Washington keeps the up-and-comers, like Kyle Smith, that they already have on their staff.

It’s also worth noting that Mayhew played for Washington and won a Super Bowl under Joe Gibbs, so he is familiar with the legacy of this franchise. He also knows how to win here, so that could help him shape Washington into a winner.

NEXT: Exploring every potential WFT QB trade target

We’ll soon see what role Mayhew is playing, but adding him to the front office certainly seems like a smart move. You can never have too much depth and scouting experience in a front office, and the respect Mayhew commands, along with his success in San Francisco, should bode well for his chances of performing well here in Washington.

[Conn]

6 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

So you think Snyder told Rivera to hire Mayhew, to relive a connection with the 1991 Super Bowl team?  There's nobody else in the building that knows Mayhew.  I don't think Doug Williams and Mayhew overlapped right?  Even if they did, I feel pretty confident in saying that Doug Williams has no sway/power/influence over decisions that Rivera does.  For example, Rivera demoted Doug after meeting him.

 

I'm not seeing the nepotism angle.  I think that's a stretch...unless you believe Rivera is a figure head and Snyder is still calling all of the shots.

Has nothing to do with Snyder, I added some stuff to my last couple posts that might make my view more clear but I wasn’t implying Snyder was driving the moves at all. The “nepotism” tag applies more to Hurney obviously. But it’s the fact that once again we end up hiring the names we were first connected to, even though we hadn’t done any interviews yet, because it was obvious those guys wouldn’t be in high demand across the league and wouldn’t require final say over the roster. That ended up being true and it didn’t really matter that we interviewed a hot name like Cowden—we probably weren’t offering what he’d want which is the GM title and roster control over at least the initial 90, like a normal organizational structure. 
 

It gives the impression that the interviews were pointless because we had our guys in mind, to the point where they were obvious picks by the media even before the hiring process began. I don’t like that, sorry. It can still work out, I’ve said that a couple times. Just voicing my opinions on the process and the guys we landed on, and likely reasons why we landed on them.

Edited January 20, 2021 by ConnSKINS26

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

2 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Not so much nepotism, but he was linked to the GM search here early on along with Hurney, before the season ended.  I believe there was a report linking us to hiring 2 'GM' like positions, with the frontrunners being Hurney and Mayhew.  Making it all seem like it was choregraphed from the start where there was no real chance to get some young up and coming blood in here.  

 

Something I always think about with decisions like these is....was anyone else calling or offering these guys jobs?  Sort of like when we brought Bruce on.  The answer is no.  

 

You can all feel free to convince yourselves that these moves are awesome, in Ron we trust and all that jazz.  I hope you're right.  I have no ill-will towards either Hurney or Mayhew, it's just starting to look like too many chefs in the kitchen, known to serve sort of bland food.

 

I gotcha.  Hurney was unemployed (I think), but Mayhew was actively employed by the 49ers.

 

Hurney I was more disappointed in, until I read that he's not a personnel/talent evaluator, he's more of an operations and liaison guy, to make sure the various FO departments are on the same page.  I also don't like how Hurney loves handing whopper contracts to RB's and FB's.  He's done that 4 times that I can think of.  If Hurney is here for a few years to then retire and hand over the reigns to someone else...then I'm ok.  Otherwise I'm not enamored with him, and I get people's complaints there.

 

I have no opinion (positive or negative) of Mayhew, and I'm not getting people's complaints there.

[Est.1974]

I’m in the slightly underwhelmed camp. However, we definitely got stronger in the Front Office. And that’s a good thing. Will be interesting to see the actual structure.

[Riggo#44]

4 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

I'm not getting people's complaints there.

 

It's mostly "they didn't hire the guy I wanted."

[Going Commando]

We're getting uninspiring front office executive candidates because the really good candidates will want true GM power.

 

I'll wait and see what happens, maybe they can work harmoniously and create a winning identity for the team.  I but I think the structure is a potential problem and that we gave Rivera far too much power for any head coach, and that it's now too late to try and take it back.  There is no more empowered coach in the NFL, and no other team would have given him this much power.  But if these guys get a bunch of good players and coach them well, then we'll win and that will make everything work.

[wilco_holland]

I didn't like Hurney because it felt to much old boys network/Allen Tampa Skins. But Mayhew looks oke

[Est.1974]

1 minute ago, Riggo#44 said:

 

It's mostly "they didn't hire the guy I wanted."

 Nah, it really isn’t you know. That’s a poor assumption.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

2 minutes ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

Has nothing to do with Snyder, I added some stuff to my last couple posts that might make my view more clear but I wasn’t implying Snyder was driving the moves at all. It’s purely the fact that we end up hiring the names we were first connected to, even though we hadn’t done any interviews yet, because it was obvious those guys wouldn’t be in high demand across the league and wouldn’t require final say over the roster. That ended up being true and it didn’t really matter that we interviewed a hot name like Cowden—we probably weren’t offering what he’d want which is the GM title and roster control over at least the initial 90, like a normal organizational structure. 
 

It gives the impression that the interviews were pointless because we had our guys in mind, to the point where they were obvious picks by the media even before the hiring process began. I don’t like that, sorry. It can still work out, I’ve said that a couple times. Just voicing my opinions on the process and the guys we landed on, and likely reasons why we landed on them.

 

Ah, yeah, I understand that.  There is a point in bringing in multiple people for GM interviews even if you never intend on hiring them.  It's a form of constructive criticism, you get an outsiders opinion of the roster and strengths.

 

From what you say, it sounds like Cowden was never a real candidate, as doing so would mean Rivera gets loses control.  Rivera came here to clean up the mess in part from lure of more control.  There have been some high quality teams where coaches have control (and others that have been a mess).  I'm optimistic that Rivera winds up more in the Pete Carroll side of things, perennial contender, then the Jon Gruden side of things.  I think it's clear Rivera isn't Josh McDaniels in Denver.  There's also Belichick, but he's up on a pedestal and it's unfair to compare or expect anyone to reach that height.

 

 

[Gallen5862]

Riverboat Ron has the final say, Washington could not offer that Power to a new GM. Anyone interviewing for the GM position would be made aware of that.

[Est.1974]

I haven’t really been that concerned about Kyle Smith staying/going, but I think with these 2 hires, of senior/older executive’s, I would like to see him retained as part of a clear succession plan. 
 

If he goes in conjunction with these hires, not great.

[KDawg]

The front office is getting awfully crowded. 
 

And not a single word on Kyle Smith. We certainly do things... differently.

[Riggo#44]

6 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

 Nah, it really isn’t you know. That’s a poor assumption.

 

It really is in my humble, expert, irrefutable, but really humble opinion because the front office is where we probably know the least about. Do we know what roles they will have? Kyle Smith's future? Will Eric Stokes take over? Why did Mayhew fail in Detroit? He was a "hot GM prospect" when he was hired there too, as was Ryan Pace in Chicago. Why did Scott Pioli go from genius in NE to a ~.333 winning percentage in KC? We all love Kyle Smith, but what information is being fed by scouts? What does Eric Stokes do? What information is he providing? Is he responsible for the late round gems we've been getting lately, or is that Smith? Or both?

 

There are so many moving parts and internal, interdependent relationships in the front office, it's really difficult to determine who is to blame...unless it's Bruce Allen. Then it's all his fault. **** that guy.

 

Like I posted earlier--I want to see this all play out through FA and the draft. We'll see.

Just now, KDawg said:

The front office is getting awfully crowded. 
 

And not a single word on Kyle Smith. We certainly do things... differently.

 

Given what we know about Rivera, I firmly believe that he knows what his role and future are here. Rivera most likely had an honest and forthright conversation with him.

[Burgold]

I suspect once you got Hurley (as GM) Stokes and Cowden became impossible to hire because they were lateral moves. Color me intrigued with Mayhew. San Francisco and Detroit were both dumpster fires before he got there. Both seemed to get considerably better during his tenure.

[KDawg]

5 minutes ago, Riggo#44 said:

 

It really is in my humble, expert, irrefutable, but really humble opinion because the front office is where we probably know the least about. Do we know what roles they will have? Kyle Smith's future? Will Eric Stokes take over? Why did Mayhew fail in Detroit? He was a "hot GM prospect" when he was hired there too, as was Ryan Pace in Chicago. Why did Scott Pioli go from genius in NE to a ~.333 winning percentage in KC? We all love Kyle Smith, but what information is being fed by scouts? What does Eric Stokes do? What information is he providing? Is he responsible for the late round gems we've been getting lately, or is that Smith? Or both?

 

There are so many moving parts and internal, interdependent relationships in the front office, it's really difficult to determine who is to blame...unless it's Bruce Allen. Then it's all his fault. **** that guy.

 

Like I posted earlier--I want to see this all play out through FA and the draft. We'll see.

 

Given what we know about Rivera, I firmly believe that he knows what his role and future are here. Rivera most likely had an honest and forthright conversation with him.

I’m not suggested this is good. Or bad. Or whatever.

 

But there’s a ton of chefs in the kitchen. If Rivera manages to get the soup right... it’ll be great.

 

I just have some... concerns...

Edited January 20, 2021 by KDawg

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

18 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

I have no opinion (positive or negative) of Mayhew, and I'm not getting people's complaints there.

I think the complaints primarily stem from the fact that we were linked to both guys early on which makes the interview process look like a sham.  I understand that Mayhew was employed, but we're promoting him.  I haven't heard him or Hurney for that matter connected to anywhere but Washington.  Like @ConnSKINS26 said, sure - it can all work out, just as getting one of the more sought after candidates could not work out.  Nobody knows, it's just these moves don't breed much confidence.  Definitely seems certain that Kyle will be on the outside looking in, that much is for certain.

[Rskins91]

1 minute ago, Burgold said:

I suspect once you got Hurley (as GM) Stokes and Cowden became impossible to hire because they were lateral moves. Color me intrigued with Mayhew. San Francisco and Detroit were both dumpster fires before he got there. Both seemed to get considerably better during his tenure.

I'm intrigued as well. He helped turn an 0-16 squad into a playoff team, which is fairly impressive. And his past few drafts with Lynch in SF show some good gets as well.

 

It's at least nice to see the priority we're placing on FO structure and bringing in good football people. That alone is a nice change of pace.