Notre Dame hiring Detroit Lions executive Mike Martin as general manager
Notre Dame has its next general manager, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish are hiring Detroit Lions director of scouting advancement Mike Martin to replace Chad Bowden, who left for USC.
Schefter reported that Notre Dame is “finalizing a deal to hire” Martin, who will “bring an NFL model to South Bend.” Blue & Gold can confirm Schefter’s report, according to a source.
Martin worked with the Lions for four seasons under general manager Brad Holmes, serving as part of his original staff in Detroit. He helped rebuild the Lions from a complete joke to an NFC powerhouse, improving their record from 3-13-1 in Year 1 to 15-2 and a second-straight NFC North championship in Year 4.
“In his role, he works with the college and pro personnel staff to enhance the scouting and roster-building processes,” Martin’s bio page on the Lions’ website reads. “Martin was an integral part of constructing a 2023 roster that helped the Lions to a 12-5 record, tying the single-season franchise record for wins in a season.”
In that 2023 season, the Lions also won their first division since 1993 and reached their first NFC Championship game since 1991.
Martin was a southwest area scout with the Carolina Panthers from 2018-20, where, ironically, he briefly crossed paths with then-pro scout James Blanchard. Blanchard was Notre Dame’s first choice for its general manager job, but he opted to remain in the same role at Texas Tech.
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Martin’s strongest connection to the current Notre Dame staff, though, came during his 11 seasons (2007-17) with the Houston Texans. During that time, he worked with current Irish director of scouting Matt Jansen, who was the director of college scouting from 2015-18.
With the Texans, Martin worked his way up from college scout (2007-14) to national scout (2015-16) to assistant director of college scouting under Jansen (2017). He got his start as a full-time NFL scout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2003-06 and before that as an intern with the Tennessee Titans in 2002.
Martin played defensive back at Vanderbilt from 1999-02, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational studies and later a master’s degree in organizational leadership. He was a finalist for Male SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in his final season.
Notre Dame is not done adding to its personnel department, despite filling its GM opening. On3’s Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong reported that the Irish are eyeing Auburn director of recruiting research and strategy Kenyatta Watson for a “key front-office recruiting role.”
