There’s Growing Buzz Around One Name for Vikings GM
The Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah over three months ago, but a successor hasn’t been named. Long-time Vikings executive Rob Brzezinski has been in charge ever since, but the club has just started its search for a new supervisor.
However, many believe it’s Brzezinski’s job to lose. He’s been around for decades and has never been in the front row. Minnesota’s ownership might change that.
Jason La Canfora, an NFL reporter, wrote last week, “The Vikings ownership group formalized their plans to begin an exhaustive search, led by an outside search firm, for their next general manager. The question being asked in some rival front offices is pretty simple: Why? The Vikings may end up doing what these general managers and execs believe makes a lot of sense, especially already this deep in the offseason, which would be promoting longtime contract negotiator and salary cap guru Rob Brzezinski to the position.”
Coming over from the Dolphins, Brzezinski joined the franchise in 1999 to become the director of football administration. He was named vice president of football administration in 2001 and executive vice president of football operations in 2014. He’s known for managing the salary cap.
The veteran front office member has worked under several GMs and his longevity is enough reason to believe he is well regarded within TCO Performance Center and, just as important, by the ownership group.
La Canforna quoted another GM, “Why wouldn’t they just promote Rob? He understands the job and he’s respected there. He has a working relationship with (head coach Kevin) O’Connell. He has relationships with the agents. Make some hires to build up the personnel department under him, but don’t overthink it.”
The Vikings might want to evaluate the market before making a final decision, but Brzezinski is still regarded as the favorite for the job and has been for months. Unlike last time when the organization was looking for a GM in 2022, the candidates and interviews will not be made public.
Another longtime personnel executive said, via La Canforna, “They’re going to promote Rob, right? I understand wanting to talk to other people, and that’s a great job and I think anybody would want to work with Kevin O’Connell. Great coach and we hear he’s pretty easy to work with. Rob can handle so much of the administrative stuff, and you can bring in football people to help with the scouting and evaluations.”
Kevin O’Connell still appears to be viewed internally as the long-term head coach of the organization, despite the recent QB disaster, making a good relationship between the new GM and him a priority in the GM search.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported last week, “Minnesota Vikings interim general manager Rob Brzezinski has expressed interest in the permanent job as the team begins its search process this week, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.”
“Brzezinski, the team’s longtime contract negotiator and salary cap manager, has been running the Vikings’ front office since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired Jan. 30. Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf asked all team employees to focus on free agency and the draft in the immediate aftermath. Brzezinski, who has turned down interest for prominent roles from other teams during his 27 years with the Vikings, had not indicated whether he wanted to pursue the job.”
At this point, the question may not be who the Vikings will hire, but when they make it official. The organization can go through the motions of a full search, but the tone from around the league suggests a growing expectation that Brzezinski is the natural choice.
That doesn’t mean the decision is made, but it does frame the process differently. Instead of casting a wide net in search of a new direction, the Vikings could simply be validating what many already believe: that the next general manager has been in the building all along.
If that’s the case, the “search” may ultimately serve as confirmation rather than discovery.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.