There’s Early Momentum in Vikings’ GM Search
In January, the Minnesota Vikings surprisingly fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. His exit was not surprising given the lack of success in the draft, but the timing was strange. Behind-the-scenes executive Rob Brzezinski was named interim GM until a new full-time GM is hired after the draft.
The updates from the decision-makers have been limited, even at this week’s league meeting, when ownership and Brzezinski had some media appearances.
We still learned a thing or two, especially from top reporter Ian Rapoport, who views Brzezinski as the frontrunner for the job.
He said on Vikings Entertainment Network, “He’s always had a strong voice in the organization… If a team was smart and they wanted to hire a GM who doesn’t just scout, doesn’t just grind tape, but really understands how an organization works, really operates it at a very high level, does great contracts, makes really good trades, someone who just runs the business of football.”
Brzezinski has been with the organization since 1999, first as the director of football administration for a couple of years, then as the vice president of football administration from 2001 until 2013 and since then, he’s been the executive vice president of football operations.
Rapoport added, “Like he’d be someone team should hire and for whatever reason, partially because he’s very loyal, has stayed in Minnesota. But to me, like this is someone who probably should have been a GM already, so I wasn’t surprised to see him get the interim title. I would expect him to be a pretty strong candidate for the full-time job as well, as he should be.”
Brzezinski is respected in the building, which is why he has survived multiple front-office overhauls. Having the trust of the ownership group gives him the inside track for the interview process. All of that, of course, with the premise that he actually wants the role.
About the interview process, Vikings owner Mark Wilf commented, “Well, we’re already laying the groundwork. Again, this is an ownership decision. Very important for the club. Right now, we’re really focused on the NFL Draft. We’ve got nine picks, we’re really excited about it, and our fans should be as well. So, we’re excited about that and focused on that.”
The focus right now is on the draft and as always, selecting the picks can change a franchise. A single class can be the foundation of a Super Bowl team. Conversely, one that looks like Minnesota’s in 2022 can be a problem for years to come.
Also at the league meeting in a different setting, Wilf commented, “We’re gonna be deliberate about it, but we know we need to get moving for the next college season and all that and get ready. Once the draft’s concluded, we’ll get going with interviews, and moving towards a relatively expeditious process to get it going. We certainly want someone who is a great leader. Someone who can lead. We feel we have a great scouting staff. Great coaching staff.”
The GM process is similar to the head-coaching interviews teams hold in January. The Vikings will likely chat with a handful of people and then pick the person they deem the best candidate to lead the organization into the next era.
Unlike coaches, when it’s obvious to check in on the best coordinators, it’s not as easy from the outside to find the next GMs.
“Of course, never resting on any laurels. We want to be competitive every single year and have long-term success. So someone’s got to fit within that. It’s got to fit within what we have in our building right now, as well. So it’s a host of factors. Hopefully, we’ll know it when we see it,” Wilf concluded.
The Vikings have a strong belief in head coach Kevin O’Connell, who should be viewed as a long-term coach, despite some fan-driven hot-seat chatter. There’s no smoke in the local media that suggests that his tenure could be over soon and a club firing the GM and not the coach is rare.
The new GM likely has to view certain things in ways that fit O’Connell’s ideas.
Brzezinski won’t be the only candidate, but he appears to be the frontrunner for the top executive job in TCO Performance Center.