Maxx Crosby takes on groundbreaking role with his alma mater Eastern Michigan

Apr 17, 2025 at 03:45 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

Before his four Pro Bowl selections, 59.5 career sacks and second multi-year contract extension with the Las Vegas Raiders, Maxx Crosby was a two-star prospect the Eastern Michigan football team made an investment in.

Now six years after becoming the highest drafted player from the university, the Eagles are making their return on investment with "The Condor."

Eastern Michigan announced Monday that Crosby will serve as the team's assistant general manager for their football program. In his new role, the edge rusher will responsible in helping evaluate high school and transfer portal prospects, manage the team's NIL/revenue share budget and serve as a special assistant to the athletic director on fundraising, alumni relations and student-athlete support.

The main motivator for Crosby is helping EMU reach heights he sought out to accomplish as a former player.

"The most important thing for me with Eastern Michigan is helping us get a MAC Championship," he told Raiders.com. "Obviously as a player, that was a a goal of mine and we didn't get that done. We made many bowl games but the next step is winning a MAC Championship.

"I've been heavily involved with the organization and the whole football team since I got in the league and I feel like I've had a responsibility. Now that I've had some more years in the league, I can take that next step in helping us get there. I've been doing things behind the scenes for awhile but now having the opportunity to have a bigger voice, a real title and getting us to that next step is truly all that maters to me."

🚨 𝙈𝘼𝙓𝙓 𝙄𝙎 𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆 🚨

Now, he's our Assistant GM 💼💣@CrosbyMaxx is joining up to:
👀 Scout the next generation
💵 Boost our NIL & recruiting game

Legends deserve legacies:
🏈 “LEO” is now the MAXX
🟩 EMU’s top DEF rusher will wear #92

🔗 https://t.co/4rVFlvD9U8 pic.twitter.com/kvpBoXhWCf
— Eastern Michigan Football (@EMUFB) April 14, 2025

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Scott Wetherbee took over as EMU's vice president/director of athletics in 2017 as "this skinny, long armed guy on the football field" was going into his sophomore season. Wetherbee and Crosby have stayed tightly connected since, with the edge rusher pledging $1 million to the EMU Athletics Department in 2023 and having the football field inside Rynearson Stadium named in his honor.

"He's somebody that's going to give us the opportunity to help us evaluate talent whether it's high schoolers or prospects who are transferring, but also being willing to be a mentor," Wetherbee said. "He has the kind of a call out like, 'If you want to be the best defensive end in the country, come to Eastern Michigan because I'm going to help you to get there' and show all walks of life what it means to be a defensive end in the National Football League."

Crosby is the first active NFL player to be named the assistant general manager of a collegiate football program.

"[I]t was very intentional to do it around our spring game, do it around the portal opening and also having the opportunity to be the first to have an active NFL player," Wetherbee said. "And again, it's just us trying to be forward thinking in how do we put Eastern Michigan and Eastern Michigan football in the best light and do everything we can to keep us moving forward."

As Wetherbee alluded, Crosby is looking forward to being a mentor for the next generation of football players that come to Eastern Michigan. It's a mission he's deeply rooted in along with his wife, Rachel, who played soccer at the university.

His personal pitch to recruits for his alma mater: "It doesn't matter where you start, it's about where you're going."

"I was one of the lowest ranked guys in that recruiting class and made it to where I'm at and I'm only going up," Crosby said. "I can be an example for those guys that were in my situation. Everybody sees the shining SEC schools and stuff like that, but in reality, it's still Division I football and we're playing high level football. If you want to go to a MAC school, if you want to win and play high level football and become a man – that's the place to go."

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Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Tyler Manoa (92) at a workout during phase one of the offseason program at Intermountain Health Performance Center.