Tag: Lance Newmark

PFT says Commanders treated QB prospects like ‘lab rats’ during interviews

More nonsense from from Washington’s favorite critic.

Pro Football Talk blasted the Commanders on Friday.

The Commanders had entertained multiple players, including four quarterbacks, earlier in the week. It was a job interview, and apparently, Josh Harris and the Commanders were really out of line, according to Mike Florio and Myles Simmons.

“I think it is imperative to bring in these guys (quarterbacks) one at a time, know everything you can about them, get them all in with you. And that is where this has kind of gone off the rails for the Commanders. Because I’m hearing belief that maybe Jayden Daniels is not all that interested now in going to the Commanders,” Florio said during Friday’s installment of “PFT Live.”

Simmons replied: “You can pick up another asset (not picking Daniels and trading down), but is that going to be worth it if you are playing games and you don’t get the exact quarterback that you sensibly have fallen in love with throughout this draft process? To me, that would not make much sense. But, there are a lot of things about the way the Commanders have gone about, let’s call it, the last week that have not made much sense to me.”

Added Florio: “Here is the other thing I’ve picked up from somebody that I trust immensely, who is very plugged into the ownership scene. Josh Harris? A lot more involved than they thought he would be. … They brought them all in on the same day because that’s the day Mr. Harris was available to see them. That’s the only plausible explanation for having them there.

“Here is the danger, the David Tepper danger. This is when the owner is involved in any way. … At the end of the day, if you get it wrong, you better get it wrong with the guy the boss wanted. Your worst-case scenario is, the boss wanted this guy, and you went with that (other) guy, and that guy stinks. … Your long-term job prospects are best suited by giving the boss what you think the boss wants, and it all comes down to how vocal the boss is.

“You are the No. 2  guy. The people who know what they are doing, have Jayden Daniels as the clear No. 2 guy. So, when you have your visit to this team, that wants you supposedly, and the day is diluted by the three other quarterbacks being there. At some level you are going to be pissed. … There’s red flags there, and it all flows back to how the Commanders have handled it. It’s not anything about Jayden Daniels. It’s how the Commanders have handled Jayden Daniels.”

Wow, has it not yet occurred to Florio that comparing Harris to Tepper is extremely unfair to Harris? If Harris proves himself to be a Tepper, then yes. But for now, doesn’t that seem like attacking Harris prematurely?

Second, do Florio and Simmons fail to comprehend the Commanders have not presented any signs whatsoever that Daniels is obviously their guy?

Third, they are flat-out wrong because several analysts also think Drake Maye should be the second selection. The situation is not as simple as Florio and Simmons erroneously believe it to be.

Fourth, are any of the other quarterbacks who visited complaining about the process? So how can Florio and Simmons logically conclude it has to be the Commanders at fault in how they handled Daniels this week?

Simmons then proceeded to say twice the Commanders’ process was “disrespectful” to the prospective quarterbacks, expressing, “I am confused by this approach.”

Though Adam Peters and Lance Newmark stated there were both individual meetings and group time, this simply does not satisfy Florio and Simmons. Florio then called it “the strategy the Commanders concocted; I know people and am a student of the human condition. It’s disrespectful, it’s disrespectful to all of them.”

Florio then said the Commanders were treating the quarterbacks “like lab rats in a weird sort of way. … Let’s just put them in a room together and see how they act. Maybe one will kill the other three, and that will clearly be the right choice for us. … There is an element of evil scientist that comes through this, that is just offputting to me as an outsider.”

Florio then called it “this weird power-trip [expletive].”

Here is the video of their entire discussion:

 

 

Commanders GM Adam Peters doesn’t see trading down from the No. 2 pick

It sure sounds like Adam Peters is staying at No. 2 and selecting his quarterback.

Washington general manager Adam Peters and his assistant GM, Lance Newmark, met with the assembled media in Ashburn on Thursday to answer questions in the annual pre-draft press conference.

No one expected Peters to reveal any top secrets in his meeting with the media. While he is always positive and humble in his dealings with the media, he is also tight-lipped. The biggest mystery in the 2024 NFL draft is what the Commanders will do at No. 2 overall.

We do know one thing they will not be doing, and that’s trading down. Here’s what Peters said about potentially moving down from No. 2 overall.

We feel great about staying at No. 2,” Peters said. “I don’t see a whole lot of scenarios where we’d trade down, to be honest.”

That’s as close to a definite as you’ll hear from Peters. Yes, draft season is “lying season,” but the Commanders have a unique opportunity to find a franchise quarterback in the same year they hired a new GM and coaching staff. Why trade down and risk losing one of the top options at the most important position in sports?

Washington will choose between Jayden Daniels (LSU), Drake Maye (North Carolina) and J.J. McCarthy (Michigan) next Thursday night. USC quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.

With so many teams looking to move into the top five to select a quarterback, the Commanders could receive a haul by trading their pick, but they have the same problem as the teams trying to make a move up the draft board: They don’t have a quarterback.

 

Commanders hire Lance Newmark as assistant general manager

Adam Peters has a new assistant GM and the Commanders reshuffle others, including Martin Mayhew and Marty Hurney.

As the Washington Commanders continue to put the finishing touches on new head coach Dan Quinn’s first staff, general manager Adam Peters made his first significant addition to the front office.

The Commanders announced they had hired Lance Newmark as Peters’ new assistant general manager. Newmark comes to Washington after 26 years with the Detroit Lions, serving in a number of roles, most recently as senior director of player personnel.

Newmark’s first NFL job came with the San Diego Chargers under legendary former Washington GM Bobby Beathard, where he spent two years as a staff assistant.

Here is a look at Newmark’s career progression:

  • Chargers: 1996-97: Staff assistant
  • Lions: 1998: Staff assistant
  • Lions: 1999-2004: Area scout
  • Lions: 2005-07: National scout
  • Lions: 2008-14: Assistant director of college scouting
  • Lions: 2015-16: Director of college scouting
  • Lions: 2017-21: Director of player personnel
  • Lions: 2022-23: Senior director of player personnel

Newmark played college football at San Diego Mesa College before transferring to the University of San Diego for his final season.

During his two seasons with the Chargers, Newmark was on staff with Marty Hurney. And, for 15 of his years with the Lions, Newmark worked with Martin Mayhew. On the same day that Washington announced Newmark’s hiring, both Hurney and Mayhew were reassigned, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Mayhew, previously Washington’s GM, will now be a senior personnel executive and advisor to Peters. Hurney, previously executive vice president of football/player personnel, will also be an advisor.

Peters released the following statement on Newmark’s hiring:

“I am thrilled to welcome Lance Newmark to the Washington Commanders,” said Peters. “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. It is my absolute pleasure to welcome Lance and his family to Washington.”

 

Commanders hire longtime Lions front office exec Lance Newmark as their assistant GM

Newmark was with the Lions for 26 years in a variety of scouting and personnel-related roles

The Detroit Lions avoided losing coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to the Washington Commanders last week, but the team is still losing a valuable piece to Washington’s new-look organization.

The Commanders announced they’ve hired Lance Newmark as their new assistant general manager. Newmark has been with the Lions for 26 seasons and has served in a variety of roles. Most recently, he was Detroit’s senior director of player personnel.

Newmark joins Washington as the right-hand man for new GM Adam Peters. From the Commanders press release,

Newmark previously oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Lions Football Information and Football Technology departments and served as the liaison between these departments and the Lions Player Personnel function. He played influential roles in both the Lions NFL Draft and NFL Free Agency period processes.

In Washington, Newmark is reunited with one-time Lions GM Martin Mayhew. The Commanders moved Mayhew into a senior personnel advisory role, and he and Newmark will work together under Peters.

Lions announce 8 front office changes, continue strong culture building

The Detroit Lions announced 8 front office changes and mostly internal promotions which shows the strong culture the Lions are instilling.

Since Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell walked through the door, they have been building an influential culture from top to bottom. One that awards individuals for their continued strong efforts, giving them the platform to take the next step forward in their careers potentially. Today those efforts were awarded as the Lions announced eight front office changes this morning, with only one being an outside hire.

The one hire of strong significance is the promotion of Mike Disner, who was promoted as the Chief Operating Officer. Disner has risen through the ranks in the Lions organization when he was hired in 2019, starting as the Vice President of Football Administration, then Senior Vice President of Football and Business Administration when Brad Holmes took over as General Manager.

Disner is widely respected in the Lions organization as he was integral in the hiring of Brad Holmes and brought Holmes to the front office’s attention. He has been a main avenue for Holmes, coming in as a first-time general manager and widely recognized as an up-and-comer in the NFL, and on his continued trajectory, he could find himself running a front office shortly.

The lone outside hire was making the hire of Brandon Sosna official. The Lions are bringing in Sosna from USC and making him the team’s Senior Director of Football Administration. He is another individual making a name for himself as he was named to the Forbes’ “30 Under 30 Sports” list in 2020 as he played as USC’s athletic director Mike Bohn’s right-hand man.

Here are the rest of the front office changes to round out the recent promotions:

  • Lance Newmark from the director of player personnel to the senior director of player personnel.
  • Brian Hudspeth from national scout to assistant director of college scouting.
  • Joe Kelleher from pro scout to assistant director of pro scouting.
  • Ademi Smith from personnel assistant to scout.
  • Gina Newell from director of team operations to senior director of football operations.
  • Jesse Giambra from the coordinator of team operations to manager of team operations/head coach administration.

Detroit Lions announce interviews with 3 internal candidates for GM position

The Detroit Lions announced they have interviewed internal candidates Kyle O’Brien, Lance Newmark, and Rob Lohman for their vacated general manager position.

The Detroit Lions are typically a team that keeps their cards close to their chest, but with principal owner Shelia Ford Hamp now in charge, the team has been slowly expanding its transparency.

Today, the Lions announced they have interviewed internal candidates Kyle O’Brien, Lance Newmark, and Rob Lohman for their vacated general manager position.

O’Brien, Lions’ current vice president of player personnel, was former GM Bob Quinn’s right hand the last four seasons. He has18 years worth of experience, working as a scout — both college and pro — in NFL front offices.

Newmark, Lions’ director of player personnel, has been with the Lions for 23 years and has seen the organization change over four general managers and 10 head coaches (including Interim coaches) during his time in Allen Park. Over the last two and a half decades, his background has focused mostly on scouting, both pro and college.

Lohamn, Lions’ director of pro scouting, is in his 14th year with the Lions — 20th year in the NFL — and as the title suggests, his scouting focuses mostly on the professionals.  Like Newmark, he has survived multiple regime changes.

All three internal candidates seem like longshots for the position, but this is a good way for Hamp and the Lions search team to get experience interviewing candidates. As well as giving individuals who have shown an eye for identifying talent a shot at a larger role.

It’s worth noting that per NFL guidelines, the Lions are not permitted to interview any candidates currently working for another NFL team until that team’s season has come to a conclusion.

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Watch: The Lions behind the scenes at the Senior Bowl

The Detroit Lions media department continues its “Road to the Draft” video series, with a new perspective, going behind the scenes at the Senior Bowl.

The Detroit Lions media department has put out a series of videos based on the Lions “Road to the Draft”, and so far, the videos we have seen — like being mic’d up at Senior Bowl practices, and coach Matt Patricia mic’s up during the Senior Bowl game — have been mostly from the coaches’ point of view. But this video is different.

In this video, the Lions’ media department shifted away from traditional mic’d up videos and presented a narrated video reminiscent of an NFL Films documentary.

The video opens by setting the table for the Lions offseason, showing clips from general manager’s Bob Quinn’s end of the year press conference and coach Matt Patricia’s opening day Senior Bowl press conference.

At the 4:55 mark, we get our first offseason interview with Kyle O’Brien the vice president of player personnel, who is one of Quinn’s top advisors. O’Brien overviews how the Lions scouts begin draft prep and how they’re able to extend their prospect research in the Senior Bowl setting.

Roman Phifer, a former NFL linebacker and current Lions’ area scout, and Lance Newmark, director of player personnel (another of Quinn’s top advisors), expand on O’Brien’s ideas, discussing the advantages of learning about players in this environment.

The next segment focuses on blending the new Lions coaches with the old, showing candid interactions between Patricia and new coordinators Cory Undlin (defense) and Brayden Coombs (special teams). The film room discussion between coaches was very fun to watch.

The video concludes with a look at the game. You can watch the entire 22 minutes video below: