BC Lions general manager Ed Hervey is stepping down for personal reasons, the club announced on Friday.

Hervey had been with the Lions since December of 2017 after a lengthy tenure with Edmonton.

“While the CFL is not playing this year and our roster is currently set, head coach Rick Campbell and director, football operations Neil McEvoy will work together with the Lions scouting staff to ensure continuity in football operations," Lions president Rick LeLacheur said in a statement.

A native of Houston, Hervey was a wide receiver as a player, taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft out of Southern California.

After years on NFL practice squads, he joined Edmonton in 1999. With the team, Hervey was a CFL All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and won the Grey Cup in 2003 and 2005. He retired as a player ahead of the 2007 season.

Previously serving in a scouting capacity for the team, Hervey was named Edmonton's GM in December of 2012. Under Hervey, Edmonton won the Grey Cup in 2015. He was fired by Edmonton in the spring of 2017 before being hired by the Lions later that November.

In 2018, the Lions qualified for the playoffs as the crossover team with a 9-9 record, but finished 5-13 in 2019 and missed the playoffs.