Washington’s pro football team turned to the 49ers to hire its last general manager and may do so again this time around.
The Commanders have asked permission to interview 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, according to NFL reporter Albert Breer. Washington, which fired head coach Ron Rivera on Monday, is expected to part ways with general manager Martin Mayhew, who was hired from the 49ers’ front office in 2021. Mayhew was the vice president of player personnel for the 2019 team that stormed through the NFC to reach the Super Bowl, which the 49ers aim to repeat over the coming weeks.
The Raiders, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, have also requested an interview with Peters, who has drawn interest over the last several offseasons as John Lynch’s second-in-command in the 49ers’ front office. Peters has been a finalist for GM jobs with the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants in the past.
On the same day they fired Rivera, the Commanders — now under an ownership group consisting of 76ers owner Josh Harris and Lakers great Magic Johnson — brought in former Warriors president Bob Myers to help fill vacancies. Myers (Danville’s Monte Vista HS) and Peters (Cupertino’s Monta Vista HS) both grew up in the Bay Area and went to UCLA before becoming front-office faces for their hometown teams.
The 49ers’ success over the last half-decade under Kyle Shanahan and Lynch has created significant interest in their coaching and management tree: In addition to Mayhew’s hire in Washington, Ran Carthon, Mayhew’s replacement, became the Tennessee Titans’ general manager last offseason, while two defensive coordinators have left for head coaching jobs (Robert Saleh, N.Y. Jets; DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans), taking offensive assistants with them (Mike LaFleur and Bobby Slowik).