Detroit Lions lose long-time front office member to Washington Commanders

Lance Newmark, a longtime Lions front-office veteran, has been recruited as the Washington Commanders’ new assistant general manager.

The Washington Commanders may or may not have wanted Ben Johnson (or Aaron Glenn) to be their new head coach, but they are hiring someone from the Detroit Lions organization.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and verified by the organization, the Washington Commanders have recruited Lance Newmark, Lions senior director of player personnel, as their assistant general manager.

Newmark will reunite with former Lions general manager Martin Mayhew, who will now serve as Washington’s senior personnel executive and counselor to general manager Adam Peters.

Newmark released a statement via the Commanders.

“I could not be more excited about joining the Washington Commanders organization,” Newmark told the crowd. “I have a lot of respect for Adam (Commanders General Manager Adam Peters), and I trust strongly in him and his vision for this franchise. I’m excited to join Adam, Coach Quinn, and the rest of the team in the DMV this week. It was quite evident during this process that Josh Harris is tremendously devoted to running a first-rate company and producing a championship-caliber football team.This opportunity was really unique. His enthusiasm for restoring this franchise to greatness is palpable. I will always be grateful for my time in Detroit, and I can’t say enough positive things about the Lions organization. I truly thank them for allowing me to pursue this great opportunity in Washington.

Newmark had been with the Lions since 1998, and he had seen far too many changes in his environment to count. He began as an assistant and worked his way up through the scouting department, holding the titles of area scout (1994-2004), national scout (2005-2007), assistant director of college scouting (2008-2014), director of college scouting (2015-2016), and director of player personnel (2016-2021) before taking on his final position in 2022.Newmark interviewed for the Lions’ general manager position before Brad Holmes was hired in 2021. He was instrumental in the draft and free agency, as well as the integration of analytics into collegiate and professional scouting.

In terms of who will succeed Newmark as Lions’ senior director of player personnel, Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit named director of pro scouting Rob Lohman and director of college scouting Brian Hudspeth as the top internal contenders.