Vikings Hire New GM and Earn Praise
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired several weeks after the last season had concluded. The franchise surprisingly dragged out that process and entered the offseason without a real GM, postponing the GM search to after the draft.
After two rounds of interviews, the Vikings are set to hire Nolan Teasley, the assistant general manager of the Seattle Seahawks.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote, “The Minnesota Vikings have hired Nolan Teasley as their general manager, sources told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Saturday, concluding an unusual chapter for the franchise. Teasley has spent the past 13 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, where he began as an intern and advanced to assistant general manager in 2023. He replaces Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whom the Vikings fired Jan. 30, and interim general manager Rob Brzezinski, who was also a candidate for the permanent job.”
It took exactly four months between Adofo-Mensah’s dismissal and Teasley’s hire.
Seifert continued, “A 2007 graduate of Central Washington, where he played football through his junior year, Teasley worked in the business world for six years before deciding to change professions. He joined the Seahawks as an intern in 2013 before being promoted to pro scout. He also served as an assistant director of pro personnel and then director of pro personnel before ascending to his most recent role as assistant general manager.”
Minnesota’s ownership seemingly wanted to hire a GM with a scouting background. All the finalists for the job — Rob Brzezinski aside — had that on their resume.
The new GM joins a franchise that has been run pretty successfully over the last few years, with very few “bad” seasons, mostly hovering around a .500 record in those disappointing campaigns.
More concerning has been the ceiling, as the club hasn’t been to the NFC title game since the 2017 season. The last time the franchise won multiple playoff games in a year was in January of 1988. Kevin O’Connell was two years old and among active Vikings, only long snapper Andrew DePaola was alive.
Teasley is coming off a franchise that just won the Super Bowl with quarterback Sam Darnold on the squad. One can only speculate what would’ve happened if the Vikings had kept the passer around.
Either way, Teasley is a widely respected person around the league, as the reaction to his hire displayed.
Alec Lewis, The Athletic, noted, “A bevy of NFL evaluators and agents praised Minnesota’s choice. One NFC executive said, ‘They speak highly of him around the Seahawks’ offices. He’s probably as qualified as any.’ One NFC scout mentioned Teasley’s ability to supplement the tape evaluation with data: ‘He knows how to communicate with those guys and use that side to help what you see on tape.'”
Adofo-Mensah was regarded as the data guy, with an analytics background but lacking football acumen. As is often the case in the NFL, the pendulum swings to the other side with the next hire.
It should be noted that the GM’s job is not to know everything, but to empower the right people around him and to use their input to make decisions. Bringing together the good old football guys and the new age analytics people to make the right calls is crucial.
More from Lewis, “One agent described Teasley as ‘patient,’ and another used the word ‘calm.’ ‘He really is the perfect present-day GM,” one current Seahawks staffer said. ‘He’s taken the time to learn all of the new stuff that one needs to know to succeed in the role — sports science, player development, health and wellness, analytics and good, old-fashioned ball.'”
Seahawks reporter Corbin K. Smith commented, “Big loss for Seahawks. Key part of building the Super Bowl squad.”
Jourdan Rodrigue, The Athletic, posted on social media, “Nolan Teasley worked his way up from a scouting internship in Seattle in 2013, quietly helping GM John Schneider build a few powerhouse rosters without ever fully tearing down. When vetting future GM candidates last fall, a couple sources marveled that he had not yet been poached.”
If the praise for the hire is any indication, Teasley is a good choice. If he, indeed, is, remains to be seen and will be answered over the years.