JustInTime wrote:

I believe he’s left football altogether.

Wow! I had not heard that. Thanks for the info.

PurplePastor wrote:

Not that I know a lot about these guys, but I'm going 1) Teasley & 2) Gray at the top simply due to their scouting ability. McKay & Alexander would be my next tier.

Yeah, Teasley is intriguing. The seahawks have turned it around from their Sidney Rice/Harvin trade days. And Gray as you said with the scouting experience. Alexander learning from Ozzie might be worth a shot. Not sure I like the rebuild from the ground up idea.

dadevike wrote:

Wow! I had not heard that. Thanks for the info.

Yes, the same guy some were touting as the frontrunner for the job a couple weeks ago

Now, why do you suppose I did that?

Take all the time you need there little buddy.

JustInTime wrote:

Now, why do you suppose I did that?
Take all the time you need there little buddy.

Ohh probably because it's who you wanted and were trying to connect the Roseman dots...but you missed the "left football altogether" memo

"Virtual interviews began yesterday and continue today. With league meetings next week followed by a holiday, it’s possible in-person second round interviews won’t take place until after Memorial Day"

The Vikings expanded their list of external candidates for their general manager opening to nine, requesting virtual interviews with three more assistant GMs from other teams.

They requested to talk to the Detroit Lions’ Ray Agnew, the Denver Broncos’ Reed Burckhardt and the Miami Dolphins’ Kyle Smith, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The three candidates, like the initial six the Vikings had requested to interview, would bring scouting experience to the role and hail from a more traditional football background than former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski, who has been the team’s acting GM this spring, is the only known candidate who does not hail from a scouting background.

The Vikings are conducting virtual interviews this week before owners head to Orlando for the NFL’s spring meetings next Tuesday and Wednesday (where the Vikings will learn whether they have been selected to host the 2028 NFL draft). In-person interviews could take place after Memorial Day, with a new GM hired by the end of the month.

Burckhardt, like fellow candidate Terrance Gray of the Buffalo Bills, spent more than a decade as a scout for the Vikings. He was with the team for 13 seasons after finishing his playing career at South Dakota State. He evaluated wide receiver Adam Thielen in his time as an area scout for the Vikings, eventually ascending to a pro scouting director role before joining George Paton in Denver when the Broncos made Paton their GM in 2021.

Agnew and Smith have both crossed paths with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell in previous stops. The 58-year-old Agnew was the Los Angeles Rams’ director of pro personnel from 2017 to 2020, while Smith spent 11 seasons in Washington, working as the director of college personnel there while O’Connell was the team’s offensive coordinator.

Smith was just hired as the Dolphins’ assistant GM this offseason, leaving Atlanta after the 2025 season. He’s the son of former Chargers GM A.J. Smith and started his playing career as an undrafted free agent with Minnesota in 2006.

The Vikings have largely kept quiet about their general manager search, but their candidate list has tracked closely with what co-owner Mark Wilf has outlined this offseason. He said in January that the Vikings prefer a traditional approach in which the GM has control over the roster with input from the scouts and coaching staff. He talked at the NFL owners meetings in March about finding a GM who can work with much of the team’s current leadership.

“We certainly want someone who is a great leader,” Wilf said. “Someone who can lead. We feel we have a great scouting staff. Great coaching staff. 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.”

O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores have taken on larger roles in the team’s scouting process in recent years, and it seems likely they will play significant roles in the future. If the Vikings keep their scouting staff together, they will need a candidate who can connect with that staff and the coaches.

Brzezinski won high praise from O’Connell and college scouting director Mike Sholiton for how he ran the front office through the draft, which could create momentum for him to keep the full-time job. Executives from other teams have praised Brzezinski as well, while wondering whether the Vikings might explore a structure that pairs the experienced executive with a new GM.

supafreak84 wrote:

Ohh probably because it's who you wanted and were trying to connect the Roseman dots...but you missed the "left football altogether" memo

I didn't want anyone in particular. But a smart guy who worked under Roseman for years, whom Roseman praised, and left his assistant GM job just as the Vikings were starting their search for a new GM, yeah that sounded pretty good to me. And that he left his job when there was only 1 GM position open - and right after the Vikings traded Greenard to the Eagles - made me think there may have been a deal already in place. Nothing too unreasonable there. But I did not know that he had left the NFL altogether.

While I remain a Brez fan, I feel that this search has been very thorough. I think Wilf's (and by consensus KOC and others in the building) have a better idea of what they want in the job.

Whoever gets hired will be a solid choice.

Yeah, I hope its Brez. If it is him, you know that he is the best choice, still, even after kissing all the other frogs in the pond.

I like the process.

Montana Tom wrote:

While I remain a Brez fan, I feel that this search has been very thorough. I think Wilf's (and by consensus KOC and others in the building) have a better idea of what they want in the job.
Whoever gets hired will be a solid choice.
Yeah, I hope its Brez. If it is him, you know that he is the best choice, still, even after kissing all the other frogs in the pond.
I like the process.

I like the process too, at least from the outside looking in. I also like that most of the candidates have heavy scouting backgrounds.

I am not a fan of Miller and I wish he was not COO. For sure he was influential in hiring KAM - but also KOC. Mixed bag for me.

I want Brez to remain with the org, but as a fan? I want someone who's been rolling in the scouting department the last 10 years to be a GM here.

I think Brez stays and gets a bump in title.

We should know by end of mos I would imagine.

Not sure how someone who was director of player personnel for the Jets would be the consensus number one choice, that would have to be an instant disqualification.

Not a lot of confidence in the Wilfs making the right decision based on their last choice.

JR44 wrote:

Not sure how someone who was director of player personnel for the Jets would be the consensus number one choice, that would have to be an instant disqualification.
Not a lot of confidence in the Wilfs making the right decision based on their last choice.

The Wilfs are totally clueless. I appreciate that they recognize (after Kwesi) that they are clueless, and went with an outside firm to lead the GM search and make a recommendation. HOWEVER, who's to say those two dopes don't adhere to the recommendation and at the end of the day ultimately just choose the guy OConnell wants most regardless of qualification? I still have zero confidence that they will ultimately pick the recommended candidate for the job (and we'll never know the truth). It's en vogue to just give OConnell whatever he wants, so why should this be any different? Like I said, I'll have serious serious questions if the decision isn't Teasley or McKay.

JustInTime wrote:

https://twitter.com/albertbreer/status/2055316240042766397

You have to wonder if others will decline as well. The way the structure of the front office may unfold, what assistant GM to going to want this job if he has to answer to others above him that are not ownership? Any respectable GM is going to want to do things his way. So drag this search out and then just name the safe comfortable guy that will cater to KOC and Flores.

Greylock wrote:

You have to wonder if others will decline as well. The way the structure of the front office may unfold, what assistant GM to going to want this job if he has to answer to others above him that are not ownership? Any respectable GM is going to want to do things his way. So drag this search out and then just name the safe comfortable guy that will cater to KOC and Flores.

If Mark Wilf is to be believed, there will be no President of Football operations type position.

Vikings insider reveals Kevin O'Connell's true involvement in GM search

Story by Chris Schad

• 4h •

3 min read

The Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of an important search for their next general manager. With several candidates lined up for Zoom interviews, it’s a vital step in the process to replace Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, and head coach Kevin O’Connell will likely have an eye on who his next partner will be in the team’s collaborative culture.

Sponsored

While O’Connell has downplayed his role in the search, KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson refuted that claim and made it sound like his role is exactly what some Vikings fans figured it would be when Adofo-Mensah was fired.

“My understanding is that [Kevin O’Connell] – no surprise, I don’t think this will be a surprise – is heavily involved,” Wolfson said during an appearance on SKOR North’s Purple Daily on Thursday. “I don’t know if I can quantify how heavily but KOC is part of the Zoom interviews. His voice carries plenty of weight.”

Kevin O’Connell’s role in the Minnesota Vikings' general manager search is bigger than he’s letting on

Wolfson’s comments suggest that O’Connell was underselling his role in the search when speaking to reporters at last week’s rookie minicamp. When asked about his involvement, O’Connell said he was available for whatever the Wilf family and Vikings chief operating officer Andrew Miller needed during the search but would defer most of the specifics to that group.

“First and foremost with respect to the process, it’s currently ongoing. I would defer everything to ownership and Andrew Miller as that process is ongoing,” O’Connell said. “I’m excited for potentially forming that relationship, going through the process and have much of a part as ownership and Andrew want me to be a part of it, I will and I’m very much looking forward to a great outcome which I know we’re going to get.”

While O’Connell sounded like he would be grateful to just be in the room for the Zoom interviews, there’s more to suggest he’s near the head of the table. Wolfson noted that O’Connell has direct connections with four of the nine external candidates for the job and current interim general manager Rob Brzezinski. 

Detroit Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew and Los Angeles Rams assistant GM John McKay spent time with O’Connell during his time as the Rams’ offensive coordinator in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. San Francisco 49ers general manager RJ Gillen also spent time with O’Connell during his time with the team in 2016, and Miami Dolphins assistant GM Kyle Smith also worked with O’Connell when he was quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders in 2017 and 2018.

It’s also notable that SI’s Albert Breer reported that Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander "respectfully declined” the team’s request for an interview on Friday. While qualified after working for the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and Chargers, he has no direct ties to O’Connell.

Mix in the facts that Adofo-Mensah was largely fired because he did not align with O’Connell and the rest of the coaching staff, and that O’Connell just got done working an entire offseason with Brzezinski as interim general manager, and it seems like his hole in the search more than the “Aw, shucks,” answer he gave one week ago.

O’Connell has earned that right after building a culture that has captured the imagination of the Wilfs. There’s also a chance that last year’s campaign, where O’Connell guided the Vikings to five straight wins to end the year with a 9-8 record, may have been more beneficial than the 13-win season in 2022 and the 14-win season in 2024.

While Wolfson’s comments are more speculation, it’s in line with what many have expected this search to be, and O’Connell may have a much bigger role than he’s letting on.

This article was originally published on thevikingage.com as Vikings insider reveals Kevin O'Connell's true involvement in GM search.

1). I dont know why this is "news"

2). The credibility of this gets tested with Woolfson involved in the reporting and

Mix in the facts that Adofo-Mensah was largely fired because he did not align with O’Connell and the rest of the coaching staff

• He sucked at drafting

• He let two Pro Bowl caliber QB's walk and forced the team to put a QB on the field who clearly wasn't ready to start due to injuries and lack of reps

Ah well, onward we go...Ships ahoy!

So OConnell is essentially picking the GM....I'm shocked

BREAKING NEWS: KO INVOLVEMENT IN GM SEARCH EXACTLY WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY PREDICTED.

FILM AFTER THE GAME.

And water is not wet…!!! 😏😒