Martin Mayhew went from a Plan B free agent during his playing days to a Plan B general manager when the Lions tossed Matt Millen out the door.
And he knows that if things don’t turn around quickly, he’s going to be looking for his own Plan B for employment.
Mayhew admitted there’s a greater sense of urgency around the Lions camp this year, the kind of thing that occurs naturally when your team goes 4-12 the year before.
“Let me just say this,” Mayhew said, via Anwar Richardson of MLive.com. “When you win four games, you better have a sense of urgency about it. Certainly, I had a great sense of urgency about this offseason, but I wouldn’t categorize it as not having a great sense of urgency in the previous offseasons.
“I just think we came into it with a great sense of urgency about getting better.”
Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz are a sparkling 22-42 as a GM-coach tandem, with the 10-6 record in 2011 their only winning season.
Even if only subliminally, that’s why they were so aggressive pursuing running back Reggie Bush and a number of other free agents, because they know they won’t get many more chances if they don’t win soon.