Commanders hire top front-office executive from Lions to serve as assistant GM

Allen Park — Maybe it's not the Detroit Lions leader people expected the Washington Commanders to hire away this offseason, but the franchise announced Wednesday they've added longtime Lions personnel man Lance Newmark to serve as their new assistant general manager.

In Washington, Newmark will work alongside first-time general manager Adam Peters, who the franchise hired in January. Newmark will also reconnect with former Lions GM Martin Mayhew, who is a senior personnel executive/advisor for Peters.

"I am thrilled to welcome Lance Newmark to the Washington Commanders," Peters said in a statement. "Lance is someone that I have known and respected in the scouting community my entire career. He is a highly respected talent evaluator and a great leader who will fit perfectly into what we're building here in Washington. I want to thank Brad Holmes and the Lions organization for being first class in working with us on the process of bringing Lance to the DMV. Lance is a phenomenal person, and he will immediately elevate our overall personnel function here at the Commanders."

Newmark has spent nearly all of his 28-year NFL career with the Lions, joining the team's personnel department in 1998. He went on to work as an area scout, assistant college scouting director and college scouting director before he was promoted to senior director of player personnel by Holmes in 2022.

Newmark helped manage Detroit's roster along with director of pro scouting Rob Lohman and senior vice president of football and business administration Mike Disner following the firing of Bob Quinn in November 2020. Newmark was also one of the internal candidates to interview for Detroit's GM job prior to the hiring of Holmes in 2021.

Prior to hiring Newmark, the Commanders had flirted with the idea of hiring Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as the team's head coach, but he pulled out of the process prior to a second, in-person interview. The Commanders also talked twice to Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn about the vacancy before hiring Cowboys defensive coordinator and former Falcons coach Dan Quinn.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

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