When Lions owner Martha Ford fired team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew Thursday, she also named Sheldon White as the team's interim GM.
White, age 50, has been the team's vice president of player personnel since 2009.
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The name might sound familiar to Lions fans. White was a defensive back for the team from 1990-1992.
Since retiring from the NFL after the 1993 season, he has coached at his alma mater Miami of Ohio and joined Lions front office in 1997. He completed the NFL's career development program at Stanford Business School in 2004.
White has been considered a probable candidate for open GM jobs around the league for the last year or so. In February, Mayhew told Lions' writer Tim Twentymen that he praised White as a possible GM: "He's exceptional at what he does, outstanding evaluator. There are a lot of guys on this roster that he brought to the table."
However, White shouldn't get too comfortable in the Lions general manager's office. Ford says she intends to conduct a national search for a permanent general manager during the off-season.