Luv the Brez, not as GM...

purplefaithful wrote:
I'm sure he'll keep the ship afloat for a short (important period) but he's not a personnel guy....Not in the old school way like a Ron Wolf or someone with that type of background...

I'd really like to see someone who lives by CHP (Can He Play) and just has that football player dna radar...Plus he (or she) is going to have to good people situation skills to work across the org. 

Vikings have been bitten by shortfalls in both capacities. Hope they get this right, cause its bigger situation then who to choose at #18. 

======================================================

After firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Vikings owners named longtime team executive Rob Brzezinski their interim general manager, meaning he’ll oversee much of the offseason, including the draft.

This raises two important questions:
Is Brzezinski the right person to oversee important personnel decisions?
Could Brzezinski win the general manager job by performing well this winter and spring?

Brzezinski’s title is vice president of football operations. His specialty is managing the salary cap, and he’s very good at that.

He’s well-liked and respected throughout the organization and by people outside the organization who know him. If anyone in the organization was going to be able to rule by building consensus, it would be Brzezinski.

He does not, however, come from a scouting background, and most NFL general managers build their expertise and their résumés by proving themselves in the realm of player evaluation.

There are two somewhat-recent situations among Minnesota professional teams that could provide insights into the challenges Brzezinski will face.

Former Vikings General Manager Jeff Diamond joined the team as a public relations assistant in the mid-’70s and rose methodically through the organization. He was not a scout by trade, but he learned how to run the team by working in different departments. Like Brzezinski, he became proficient in salary cap maneuvering.

In 1998, Diamond’s best team lost in the NFC championship game. He was named NFL executive of the year, and he left to become president of the Tennessee Titans, who in Diamond’s first season came within a yard of winning the Super Bowl.

“Rob came in the door with the Vikings in 1999, when I was on my way out,’’ Diamond said. ”I’ve known Rob for a long time. We have a good relationship. And I think he will be a candidate for the job.

“Back when I was a GM, there were more people who had my type of background, who came up through operations, through contract work, salary cap work, negotiations and running the organization as a whole, managing all of the departments.

“One thing that fans don’t necessarily get is how many different areas there are in an organization like the Vikings, how many things you have to manage. It’s not just player evaluation, although that is an important piece.’’

Diamond was known for friendly collaboration with his employees and players. “But someone has to break the tie, and that’s your job,” Diamond said. ”I believe that we almost always reached consensus on our biggest decisions.’’

Brzezinski’s profile is similar to Diamond’s.

There was another relatively recent example of a local team hiring someone who wasn’t a player or personnel evaluator. When Terry Ryan resigned as Twins general manager in 2007, the Twins were a model franchise, having fought off contraction in 2001, reached the ALCS in 2002 and reached the playoffs in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 despite a relatively low payroll.

Assistant general manager Bill Smith replaced Ryan. Smith’s strengths were in facilities and business management. He was hired largely so the Twins could keep Ryan’s lieutenants in place.

Smith played a large role in designing Target Field and the Twins’ spring training facility in Fort Myers and was known for his obsessive work ethic.

The Twins fired Smith after the 2011 season. His résumé wasn’t bad — the Twins made the playoffs, or at least a Game 163, in 2008, 2009 and 2010. But the 2011 season exposed a severe lack of major league-ready young talent, especially in the pitching department, that would make the team uncompetitive for years.

If Brzezinski is asked only to shepherd the Vikings for a few months, he’s well-positioned to do good work. If he’s going to be a long-term general manager, he’ll have to quickly figure out which personnel experts he can trust and how much influence he should allow head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores to have.

STRIB

On the last bit about weighing the influence of his coaches, the good news is that Brzezinski has been in the building and should have a good grasp on how well KO and Flores evaluate talent. Continuity can be a good thing. If the team can identify some better scouts and ultimately, players, we really could start to see success. Free agency, team culture, coaching are all pretty solid so if we can reduce the amount of underachieving draft picks we might really be onto something. Easier said than done but at least we're trying something new this year.

My concern is that he is going to be more a mediator than GM and that KOC and Flores will be the ones making the personnel decisions, which I do not think is a strength of either. I would rather have Brez making the calls instead of those two.

JR44 wrote:
My concern is that he is going to be more a mediator than GM and that KOC and Flores will be the ones making the personnel decisions, which I do not think is a strength of either.  I would rather have Brez making the calls instead of those two.

I agree with this. KOC & Flores are going to take a short term view of what's best for the team as they have to win in order to keep their positions. The GM has to take a longer view. Not just focus on winning next season, but make decisions with the long term health of the team in mind.

I see no similarities between Jeff Diamond and Brezinsky.  Diamond oversaw the most blown up cap situation imaginable.  And I think Denny effectively ran the draft during that time for better (Moss) or worse (Underwood).

The idea of making Brez g.m. seems like a lighter shade of Kwesi- a numbers guy with no insights into personnel.  The current situation is just a repeat of the failed and never should have been tried triangle of authority.  Sorry but guys who buy a football team having zero knowledge of the football biz and immediately institute a management structure that no other team in football ever tried are just...idiots.  But I digress...

I'm sure now that master politician Kevin O'Connell has maneuvered his way to organizational control it will work out like it always does when a coach has all the power.  Skol! ;)

StickierBuns wrote:

KOC didn't 'maneuver' anything

Don't be naive.

JR44 wrote:
My concern is that he is going to be more a mediator than GM and that KOC and Flores will be the ones making the personnel decisions, which I do not think is a strength of either.  I would rather have Brez making the calls instead of those two.

We don't know. But hopefully Brez does. Hopefully he also has the authority to go in different directions if he doesn't think their input adds value. There's a lot of questions around the situation but I feel no need to assume the worst. I don't think there's proof either way on whether or not KO and Flo can evaluate college players.

Maybe it is a mere coincidence that Flores signs his huge new deal and Kwesi gets fired. KOC and Flores get control of the draft and free agency. There is more than enough time for the Wilfs to interview and hire a new GM but looks like they don't have much say anymore. And Brzezinski needs to stick with managing the cap and let a personnel guy make football decisions.

I think everyone's discounting the role of the scouting staff in these decisions. I think ideally, the GM runs the draft. He negotiates the moves up and back and perhaps breaks ties when there are disagreements on the team between players, as he's the one with the long-term vision. 

All the coaching staff typically does is provide the "kind" of players they're looking for, the schematic "fit." I think their involvement with actual scouting of specific players is limited. Obviously, there are exceptions. When it came time for the Vikings to draft their franchise QB, I doubt anyone had more input than KOC. Keenan McCardell obviously had a big say in drafting Tai Felton. But I don't know that anyone has a heavier hand in composing the team's draft board than the scouts. And as far as I can tell, the Vikings have not made any changes to their scouting staff. 

This is another reason why I think the draft had very little to do with Kwesi's ouster.

StickierBuns wrote:

Pretty low bar set by KAM for improvement in the Draft/free agency process. You'd think the team won 3 games last year. There'll be talent there regardless for the 2026 season. Where the pressure will be is on the starting QB for 2026. It'll be amazing how 'well' the rest of the team performs with good QB play and a modicum of healthy players.

Adam Ferrell
@AdamFerrellNFL
Former #Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is considering filing a class action lawsuit against the Vikings.

Class action? That's a group of people to suing a defendant collectively.

for FUCKS SAKE!!!!  cant this damn franchise go 1 fricking season without being the shit headline of the league?

JimmyinSD wrote:

for FUCKS SAKE!!!!  cant this damn franchise go 1 fricking season without being the shit headline of the league?

You can thank Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb for that. They are the one constant variable in 21 years of dysfunction and futility.

JR44 wrote:
My concern is that he is going to be more a mediator than GM and that KOC and Flores will be the ones making the personnel decisions, which I do not think is a strength of either.  I would rather have Brez making the calls instead of those two.

And yes, this is exactly what's happening

JimmyinSD wrote:

for FUCKS SAKE!!!!  cant this damn franchise go 1 fricking season without being the shit headline of the league?

The short answer is hell no...

As far as the timing of the KAM firing? It was either just poorly planned or there's something that went down that hasn't gone public yet. Or not...Who the hell knows?

(shrug emoji)

StickierBuns wrote:

I'm not 100% sure its true, I've been tricked before. But.....if it is, yeah......fuuuuck me.

It's not true. 

I don't get the amusement some get from posting fake shit. The misinformation and disinformation rampant in today's media is frustrating, but at least there's a reason for it. Nefarious though it may be, it has purpose. Convince enough idiots the other guy wants "death panels" and you can win an election. 

What I don't get is this kind of fictional content creation that seems to be taking over, especially on Facebook. Just making shit up for the purpose of making shit up. No goal in mind, no purpose whatsoever, just clicks, traffic and revenue.

StickierBuns wrote:

I'd say don't be so conspiratorial. You tell me then why the timing of the firing? Plenty of time before this for a KOC coup.

The owners had no intent to fire him or they would have planned it and done it in the normal timeframe that every team does - end of season (or earlier).  Popping it up a month later and giving vague answers at the presser and saying well we'll skip having a g.m. for a while, just put the cap guy in charge (wtf?!)... reeks of something weird going on internally.   Like a HC campaigning behind the scenes and getting his g.m. fired when he's convenientlly out of town working the Senior Bowl as if everything is normal business as usual.  I don't have to be "conspiratorial" to say this looks really fucking odd.

And it was followed by a campaign of media leaks designed to paint Kwesi as responsible for every bad thing ever and somehow making all the qb decisions at TCO while poor innocent Kevin sat by idly.  Laughable.  Anyone who thinks every QB decision in that building wasn't running straight through KOC also believes in the tooth fairy.   Not only that but stories came out in the aftermath of the firing with a lot of interesting tidbits, including pretty clear indications that the draft process the last few years was largely run by KOC and the coaches, so don't be surprised if we produce another dud this spring despite the removal of evil awful failure deluxe bad drafter and all around horrible human being Kwesi.

StickierBuns wrote:

Adam Ferrell
@AdamFerrellNFL
Former #Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is considering filing a class action lawsuit against the Vikings.

Class action? That's a group of people to suing a defendant collectively.

Yeah that's a weird descriptor. But I would love to read the discovery in that lawsuit if it ever happens. :rolleyes:

comet52 wrote:

The owners had no intent to fire him or they would have planned it and done it in the normal timeframe that every team does - end of season (or earlier).  Popping it up a month later and giving vague answers at the presser and saying well we'll skip having a g.m. for a while, just put the cap guy in charge (wtf?!)... reeks of something weird going on internally.   Like a HC campaigning behind the scenes and getting his g.m. fired when he's convenientlly out of town working the Senior Bowl as if everything is normal business as usual.  I don't have to be "conspiratorial" to say this looks really fucking odd.

And it was followed by a campaign of media leaks designed to paint Kwesi as responsible for every bad thing ever and somehow making all the qb decisions at TCO while poor innocent Kevin sat by idly.  Laughable.  Anyone who thinks every QB decision in that building wasn't running straight through KOC also believes in the tooth fairy.   Not only that but stories came out in the aftermath of the firing with a lot of interesting tidbits, including pretty clear indications that the draft process the last few years was largely run by KOC and the coaches, so don't be surprised if we produce another dud this spring despite the removal of evil awful failure deluxe bad drafter and all around horrible human being Kwesi.

100% dead on

StickierBuns wrote:

That's quite a narrative, lol. I also like how you add that anyone that can't grasp your 'theory' is laughable or naive. You know, just a mic drop on your rant and only the dumb-dumbs can't grasp it. The folded-arm curmudgeons are always a hoot! And I'll give you that you guys are patient, because you couldn't find any during the 14 win season with binoculars. 

I'm off to grab some coffee and get my molar out from under the pillow....no money this morning there!  :rolleyes:

They're saying new general manager KOC is looking to trade your boy JJM for a bag of peanuts.

StickierBuns wrote:

Thanks, I'll enter it in my notepad file!

comet52
"This is the time of year aka silly season where 95% or more of what you hear is unadulterated b.s. 

Just cut and paste every football rumor you run across between now and the draft into a notepad file then read it afterwards for laughs."

Those 5 percenters can really sting.

Judd nails it on the Wilfs (19:20), why we have struggled under their ownership, and the entire Kwesi/GM situation. I know some don't like Judd, but damn if he isn't spot on with a lot of the "what's wrong with this organization" informed opinions. Give it a listen...

supafreak84 wrote:
Judd nails it on the Wilfs (19:20), why we have struggled under their ownership, and the entire Kwesi/GM situation. I know some don't like Judd, but damn if he isn't spot on with a lot of the "what's wrong with this organization" informed opinions. Give it a listen...

I'm right there with ya.  That show offers great insight and Judd's views at least as they relate to how the inner workings should be versus how they are, describe the problem pretty clearly. The Wilfs should be able to figure it out once and for all.  I think there's a little too much hands off and too cushy of an environment in that building.  They need to manage it much more aggressively, which is interesting given their backgrounds.  Judd can keep a lot of his personal views to himself that don't relate to the Vikings, but his analysis on them is pretty strong.

supafreak84 wrote:
Judd nails it on the Wilfs (19:20), why we have struggled under their ownership, and the entire Kwesi/GM situation. I know some don't like Judd, but damn if he isn't spot on with a lot of the "what's wrong with this organization" informed opinions. Give it a listen...

Not sure if the link you gave had this bit of info in it but on thursdays video Judd also mentioned there seemed to be a big disconnect with the Wilf's and the organization.  He said since Zigi and Mark both live in New Jersey they don't always get the scoop on what is going on with the team.  Somebody should be living in Minnesota and around the team daily instead of relying on Andrew Miller to keep them up to date.

Waterboy wrote:

I'm right there with ya.  That show offers great insight and Judd's views at least as they relate to how the inner workings should be versus how they are, describe the problem pretty clearly. The Wilfs should be able to figure it out once and for all.  I think there's a little too much hands off and too cushy of an environment in that building.  They need to manage it much more aggressively, which is interesting given their backgrounds.  Judd can keep a lot of his personal views to himself that don't relate to the Vikings, but his analysis on them is pretty strong.

The Wilfs are Woody Johnson level awful, despite the cushy new stadium and fancy facilities.

Greylock wrote:

Not sure if the link you gave had this bit of info in it but on thursdays video Judd also mentioned there seemed to be a big disconnect with the Wilf's and the organization.  He said since Zigi and Mark both live in New Jersey they don't always get the scoop on what is going on with the team.  Somebody should be living in Minnesota and around the team daily instead of relying on Andrew Miller to keep them up to date.

Yup, that is exactly what was discussed in the link. That's why I say, the philosophies of the Wilfs and how they choose to run the football organization are seriously flawed. Four playoff wins in 21 years is negligence at the highest level and the Wilfs are the one common variable.