New Lions scouting director’s role is now in limbo

The Lions promoted Lance Newmark to director of college scouting in May, so the organization planned to have him set the draft board for the first time in 2016.

With the team firing general manager Martin Mayhew last week, though, it’s unclear if Newmark will have that opportunity.

The new GM will ultimately decide who stays or goes from the current scouting staff, but there is reason to think Newmark could remain with the Lions.

Over the past two offseasons, two teams have tried to interview Newmark for jobs in their scouting departments, including the Bears earlier this year after hiring new GM Ryan Pace in January.

The Lions rejected both interview requests, which the league allows with both scouts and coaches, but obviously, it’s a sign other people around the league have noticed Newmark’s work. Before he was fired, Mayhew praised Newmark and said all of the personnel staff would be working harder during draft season with him in charge.

“I’m not going to get into a lot of detail, but we are going to change some of our procedures and things that we’ve done in the past in terms of who we evaluated, maybe getting some second and third looks on some guys,” Mayhew told beat reporters in London on Oct. 30. “There may have been some guys who slipped through the cracks somewhat in terms of if they’re at a smaller school, they don’t get a great grade from BLESTO, well, we don’t evaluate them as thoroughly as we probably should or should have.

“We’re going to do a little bit more evaluation. It’s going to be a little bit more work for everybody involved, but obviously going to be worth it, we think, in terms of the payoff from that.”

Newmark replaces Scott McEwen, who received a promotion to senior personnel executive in March. McEwen has been with the Lions since 1987 and had been the director of college scouting since 2000.

Although the Lions’ scouts played a critical role in the draft process, Mayhew ultimately made the draft selections, many of which led to the team’s currently poor roster.

After two years as a staff assistant with the Chargers, Newmark joined the Lions in 1998 and became a personnel scout in 1999, holding that job until a promotion to national scout in 2005. If the Lions don't retain Newmark, he'd likely find work elsewhere quickly.

Although the Lions’ new personnel boss will likely bring in new scouts as he tries to build the team how he wants, the current scouts can look to Carolina as a reason to think they could remain in Detroit. When the Panthers hired Dave Gettleman as GM in 2013, he didn’t make sweeping changes to the team’s personnel department and retained its director of college scouting, Don Gregory.

One similarity between Carolina’s situation and the Lions is the Panthers also fired their previous GM, Marty Hurney, during the season in October 2012 after a 1-5 start. The Lions started 1-7 this year before firing Mayhew and President Tom Lewand last Thursday.

One key difference is Gregory had run the Panthers’ college scouting since 2006, and Carolina drafted a rookie of the year in 2011 — quarterback Cam Newton — and 2012 — linebacker Luke Kuechly — before Gettleman arrived.

Mayhew said he and Newmark had grown close because they both live in Metro Detroit, and he expected Newmark to do well with the new position.

“He’s been sort of the lieutenant for a while, and he and I have a great relationship,” Mayhew said. “I think he’s going to do an outstanding job for us.”

Big Sean Thanksgiving

Lions fans will have to say a few more blessings on Thanksgiving this year.

Hip-hop artist Big Sean, a Detroit native, is playing at halftime when the Lions host the Eagles at 12:30 p.m.

The team announced the performance on Twitter Sunday night with Big Sean in a picture with Joique Bell, a former standout at Detroit’s Wayne State, 2014 first-round pick Ziggy Ansah and mascot Roary.

Big Sean, 27, is from Detroit’s west side, and graduated from Cass Tech. On Saturday, he hosted a “Detroit vs. Everybody” concert at Joe Louis Arena featuring Eminem among other local hip-hop acts.