A source told ESPN Thursday that the Washington soccer team is appointing Martin Mayhew as its new general manager, adding another experienced voice to help coach Ron Rivera.

Mayhew, who was recently a CEO in the front office of Niners, interviewed Rivera on January 16 and has long been considered a strong candidate. Among other well-known interviews, Washington also spoke with Ryan Cowden, vice president of the Tennessee Players‘ Team, Nick Polk, director of football operations for Atlanta, and Jojo Wooden, director of staff for Los Angeles Chargers.

Mayhew has had a solid front office track record and also gained a reputation for knowing how to work with his head coaches. In Washington, Rivera has power, so the director general will report to him. He and Mihyo share the same agent, but Mayhew also brings with him a wealth of experience. He served as Detroit General Manager from 2008 to 2015 – after eight years in the Lions front office. Rivera said he wanted someone who could also handle the administrative duties of the position.

Washington is also expected to hire former Carolina Managing Director Marty Horney, although his role has yet to be determined, according to a source. Those details are still being worked out Thursday night. ESPN had previously reported that Hurney is expected to become general manager of Washington after he met on Monday with Rivera, the main power broker on the football side. Hearney was part of the group that hired Rivera, Carolina; He was fired in 2012 but is back in 17 for Rivera’s final three seasons. Hearney covered the Washington franchise for The Washington Times in the late 1980s before joining the organization’s public relations group.

Mayhew was named to General Motors Detroit in late 2008 after the Lions finished that season 0-16. Detroit was 8-24 in its first two seasons. The Lions did post-season work in 2011 and 14, the only two years he achieved a winning record during his tenure. Overall, Detroit went 41-63 in its seven seasons.

Mayhew hired Jim Caldwell in 2014 to replace the first coach he signed, Jim Schwartz. Detroit fired Mayhew midway through the 2015 season. But his appointment to Caldwell paid off: Detroit finished with three winning seasons in Caldwell’s four years with two play-offs. It was the first time Detroit had recorded consecutive winning seasons since 1994-1995.

One of the people who trained under Mayhew’s leadership described him as „intelligent, analytical, sober“ and someone who kept his cool. He was able to disagree without becoming divisive. He also said that Mayhew sometimes lacked a sense of players, but he felt the problem could be minimized if someone else on his team provided that quality.

Mayhew was director of football operations for the New York Giants in 2016 before joining the front office in San Francisco a year later. He spent two years as a CEO and the last two years as Vice President of Players.

Mayhew played four years in self-defense in Washington, winning the Super Bowl in the 1991 season. His time in Washington was between one season at Buffalo and four at Tampa Bay.