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Lions fire GM Mayhew, president Lewand; not giving up on season

Posted at 12:42 PM, Nov 05, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-05 15:29:24-05

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The Detroit Lions are cleaning house.

The 1-7 Lions have fired general manager Martin Mayhew and team president Tom Lewand.  Jim Caldwell has been told he will remain as the team’s head coach.

 Last week, the team fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and replaced him with Jim Bob Cooter. The Lions still lost, 45-10.

Team owner Martha Firestone Ford held a press conference Thursday afternoon announcing the changes.  She said that they have been disappointed in the team’s performance this season, but they are also not giving up.  She said that they will be starting a national search for replacements for Mayhew and Lewand and that the Lions fans “deserve a winner.”

Martha Firestone Ford

Martha Firestone Ford

Mayhew has been with the Lions since 2001, according to FOX 2 Detroit. He was promoted to General Manager when former GM Matt Millen was fired in 2008. Mayhew is responsible for selecting Matthew Stafford as the number 1 overall pick in 2009 as well as TE Brandon Pettigrew in 2014. Lewand was named team president the same day and oversaw the team’s day-to-day operations.

Sheldon White will be the acting General Manager and Allison Maki will be the interim COO.  Both will report directly to Martha Ford.

We’ll have more on FOX 17 News starting at 4:00pm.