The Washington football team is expected to make Marty Hurney its new general manager, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The change, which was first reported by the NFL Network, provides another familiar face for coach Ron Rivera.
Hurney spent part of five seasons with Rivera in Carolina, having been fired twice. He hired Rivera in 2011 and spent another year there before being deposed.
He returned in 2017 as an interim general manager and remained in the position until he was fired in December, partly because his “traditional” methods clashed with owner David Tepper’s desire to find someone more aligned with an analytical and data-driven approach.
Rivera will still have the organization’s football power, having been hired to provide a “coach-centered” model, according to owner Dan Snyder. But Washington wanted to add someone else to his office to ease some of Rivera’s administrative burden. Hurney took care of the salary cap in Carolina, among other functions. In the last off-season, Washington hired his former Carolina assistant, Rob Rodgers, to assume that role.
Washington also spoke with former Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew, Tennessee vice president of players’ team, Ryan Cowden, and Washington professional team director Eric Stokes, among others. Rivera did not interview Kyle Smith, the vice president of the Washington players’ team who has been in the franchise for 11 years.
Hurney returns to an organization he used to cover as a sports journalist. He spent four years covering them for the Washington Times before joining the team’s public relations department. He became assistant general manager for San Diego in 1990.
Washington hired 12 former Carolina coaches and sports trainer Ryan Vermillion after landing Rivera. He also hired Rodgers, Stokes and professional scout Donnie Warren, who had also been with the Panthers.