Martin Mayhew hired to be Giants’ director of football operations and special projects

Former Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has been hired by the Giants as their director of football operations and special projects. Mayhew replaces Matt Harriss, who had been the Giants’ director of football operations before he was hired by the Lions as vice president of football administration last month.

Mayhew, 50, will “work closely with assistant general manager Kevin Abrams on all aspects of the salary cap, CBA compliance and player contract negotiations,” the Giants said in announcing the hire on Thursday. “He will also handle special projects as assigned by general manager Jerry Reese.”

Mayhew is the first announced change to the front office this offseason. When the 2015 season ended, Reese said that the team would “evaluate our personnel staff and see if there need to be any changes made there.” It’s unclear what role Mayhew will play in scouting or personnel decision-making, and whether those might fall under any “special projects.”

Mayhew was with the Lions for 15 years and was general manager from 2008 until he was fired in November. He does not have a background in scouting, having joined the Lions as senior director of football administration/staff counsel. He was promoted to senior vice president of football administration/legal affairs in February 2003 and in October 2004 he was appointed senior vice president and assistant general manager.

He does have experience as a player, though, having played nine seasons in the NFL as a cornerback in Buffalo, Washington and Tampa Bay. He was a starter on Washington’s Super Bowl XXVI-winning team.

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.