Mike Martin, an accomplished personnel expert, has been named Notre Dame Football’s general manager. Martin joins the Irish after spending more than 20 years in scouting departments across the National Football League, including four seasons as the Detroit Lions’ director of scouting advancement.
Marcus Freeman, head football coach at Notre Dame Dick Corbett, described Mike Martin as “an innovative, forward-thinking, organized leader who is also elite at talent evaluation.” “He is an excellent communicator with substantial experience in roster creation and management, having contributed significantly to the enhancement and development of the Detroit Lions’ team in recent years. Furthermore, his experience with sports science and statistics will help us continue to improve our program.”
During his four seasons with the Lions, Martin worked with the college and professional personnel departments to improve the scouting and roster-building procedures. The Lions achieved great success in 2024, finishing with a 15-2 regular season record, breaking the franchise’s single-season win record.
It came after Detroit finished 12-5 in 2023, tying the previous season win record of 12. The 2023 season was the franchise’s third season with multiple playoff wins, and the first since 1957. The 2023 roster construction was also critical in helping Detroit win its first Division Championship since 1993 and progress to its first NFC Championship since 1991.
Martin spent 2018-20 as the Carolina Panthers’ southwest region scout before joining Detroit. He also spent 11 seasons with the Houston Texans, beginning as a college scout for eight seasons, progressing to national scout for two seasons, and finished as assistant director of college scouting.
His first full-time NFL role was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he worked as a pro personnel assistant, then as a pro scout, and finally as the southeast area and national combine scout during his four-year stay. He began his NFL career as an intern for the Tennessee Titans in 2002.
Martin graduated from Vanderbilt in 2003, where he played defensive back for four seasons and was a nominee for the 2003 Male SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. He received a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development studies before going on to earn a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Vanderbilt University in 2003. He and his wife, Cari, have two children: Maddon and Malone.
