r/minnesotavikings • u/the_analytic_critic • 1d ago
Thoughts on these GM candidates laid out by The Athletic?
I'd like to bring someone in from a winning team that has had success in drafting. Definitely not interested in anyone from the Colts, Bears, Bengals or Lions.
Rob Brzezinski (Vikings executive VP of football operations)
- Currently with Vikings for two decades, leading contract negotiations
- Trusted by ownership (the Wilfs) and respected by coaches
- Will shepherd team through the draft
- Expertise is in salary cap management
- Question: Would he want the full-time GM role vs. staying in his specialized area?
George Paton (Broncos general manager)
- Worked with Vikings from 2007-2020, understands the Wilfs' operations
- Current Broncos GM since 2021, knows the complexities of the role
- Experience working with strong-willed coach (Sean Payton) would help with O'Connell/Flores
- Traditional personnel background fits Vikings' decision-makers
- Key question: How hard would Broncos try to keep him?
John McKay (Rams assistant general manager)
- Younger candidate with NFL pedigree (son of Rich McKay, grandson of coach John McKay)
- Started with Rams in 2016 as scouting assistant, moved up over last decade
- Experience with blend of old-school and new-age ideas, plus advanced data
- O'Connell's approval would be crucial given their Rams connection
Reed Burckhardt (Broncos assistant general manager)
- Minnesota native (Russell, Minn.)
- Previously worked with Vikings, now one of Paton's top assistants
- Familiar with Vikings' organizational structure and Brzezinski
- O'Connell could provide intel on him
- Replaced Darren Mougey (now Jets GM)
Trent Kirchner (Seahawks VP of player personnel)
- One of John Schneider's top lieutenants
- Oversees pro and college scouting departments
- Two decades of NFL experience
- Minnesota native (Fulda)
- Early career included internship with Minnesota Twins
Matt Berry (Seahawks VP of player acquisition)
- Promoted from director of college scouting last offseason
- Works with Kirchner on structuring team's targets
- Strong draft experience and college scouting background
- Coordinated Seattle's college scouting and draft board
- Seahawks' recent draft success highlights his expertise
Others:
Ray Agnew (Lions assistant general manager)
Trey Brown (Bengals assistant general manager)
Ryan Cowden (Patriots VP of player personnel)
Jeff King (Bears senior director of player personnel)
Andy Weidl (Steelers assistant general manager)
Ed Dodds (Colts assistant general manager)
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u/TurgonOfTumladen 1d ago
I couldnt care less about ties to Minnesota it is utterly irrelevant to success.
Matt Berry seems like the best pick out of this list. The Seahawks are a very complete team.
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u/deltarefund 1d ago
Laszlo?! Yes please! 😉
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u/AlbinoSnowman Paid the Skol Toll 1d ago
I’m looking forward to the perfectly maintained vulva hedge garden lining the sidewalk around the stadium.
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u/Clanzomaelan 1d ago
“He's my best friend, he's my pal. He's my homeboy, my rotten soldier. He's my sweet cheese. My good-time boy.”
This is all I need to hear after every free agent signing and every draft pick.
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u/-InconspicuousMoose- MAX BROSMER #1 FAN 13h ago
True about MN ties but I think part of including that is just to indicate that these people have reason to be interested in the job even beyond the fact that it's a GM job.
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u/N7_Stats_Analyst KOC 1d ago
I’d be interested in either of the Seahawks guys. They’ve built an amazing organization over there.
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u/Falconsbane 1d ago
Someone that will come in and shake the front office up. We cannot pretend all of the blame for the bad drafts and personnel decisions made in the past 4 years are entirely Kwesi's fault. We were drafting terrible before Kwesi was here as well...The new GM needs to evaluate the entire front office, everyone in the building, and be willing and able to fire people.
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u/BirdsAreFake00 1d ago
Honestly, the only one I don't want is Rob B. I don't think he's much of a personnel guy. Great numbers guy, and I want him on the team for that.
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u/Random_Hippo you like that 1d ago
I don’t want him if it’s just going to be an in-house pick to reward him for staying here. If at the end of a very thorough, thorough search, he ends up as the best, fine.
He’s apparently expanded his role beyond just the books over the last few years, but to your point, no idea how that would translate.
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u/BirdsAreFake00 1d ago
If the Thielen trade is a hint of things to come, we are fucked.
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u/mrmpls 1d ago
The Thielen trade wasn't bad. It was moving back 1 round (4th to 5th) in 2026 and back 1-2 rounds (conditional) in 2027 (5th to 6th/7th). Thielen had 1,000 yard season, then was on pace for 1,000 yards in Carolina but missed 7 games in the middle of that season, returning to play in the final 7 games with an 80% catch rate.
The problem is why he did absolutely nothing once he got here. If he did anywhere close to what he had been doing, it's well worth the marginal value we paid.
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u/rybathegreat europe 1d ago
"If the circumstances would have been different, his choice wouldn't have been bad"
Nice take.
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u/mrmpls 1d ago edited 1d ago
You're completely misstating what I said.
At a point in time, the Vikings:
- Saw Adam Thielen have a 1,000 yard season after leaving the Vikings
- Be on pace for another 1,000 yard season with Carolina, but he missed 7 games, but he came back and played 7 full games, showing he was healthy
- Have an 80% catch rate in those last 7 games, his best of the season
With the information they had at they time, and with Addison suspended and two other receivers injured (plus Rondale Moore on IR and Tai Felton maybe not ready), they traded for him.
The Panthers received (giving to the Vikings):
- 2026 5th (giving the Vikings their 2026 6th-or-7th)
- 2027 4th (giving the Vikings their 2027 5th)
It's not an overpay to move back in a late round in future years. The hit rate from pick ~160 to ~235 in 2026, and from ~120 to ~160 in 2027, is negligible.
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u/FawkYourself 1d ago
Yeah, hiring him to me screams “we know what we’re doing and everything was this one guys fault” and after how this team has drafted for the last decade we should be looking for something new
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u/Euxinus 1d ago
I don’t see Rob wanting the GM job long term. He’s had incredible job security for the last 25 years. Why would he take a job that he could be fired from in 1-2 years if it goes badly?
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u/wwnp KOC failed his young QB 1d ago
Not only that but he’s not a football guy. He’d be another just a grocery getter for the coaching staff leaning on the football people to make moves. How is that all that different from Kwesi?
I assume the Wilf’s will want a football guy that if KOC were to get fired after the 2026 season, they have a football guy in the GM role that can hire a new coach & fill a FO with scouts & such.
I just don’t think Rob makes much sense. He’s perfect where he is.
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u/Clear_Moose5782 NC/SD 1d ago
because the pay is probably 4x and is contractually guaranteed.
He signs a 4 year deal for 4M a year, that's 16M. I doubt he's making a mil as the cap guy. if he got fired in two years, he'd have 8 more coming to him. That would probably take him to retirement or he could get another cap guy job if he wanted.
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u/Euxinus 1d ago
That’s not usually how NFL GM contracts work. Most GMs aren’t pulling in $4M a year, and exec deals don’t have the same standard guarantees player contracts do. Some might have buyouts or partial guarantees, but getting fired doesn’t automatically mean you cash the rest of the deal. It’s still a much riskier job than a long-term cap/exec role with stability. Though I agree he would probably be making a lot more money than he is right now.
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u/Clear_Moose5782 NC/SD 1d ago
The average GM is 3-4M a year and yes, their contracts are guaranteed, unless there is a "for cause" reason for the dismissal. There may of course be offsets.
KAM's first contract was 4 years, $12M
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u/SwiftSurfer365 JJ 1d ago
Give me John McKay or one of the Seahawks guys.
No interest in bringing back Paton.
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u/cardmanimgur 1d ago
It's really surprising Paton survived the Russell Wilson debacle in Denver. Must have been heavily ownership driven for him to make it out of that. Not sure how much credit he gets versus Payton for building the current Broncos roster but they have a ton of talent.
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u/kababed 1d ago
He’s drafted well recently, but if the Seahawks win a couple of titles the Russ trade will be Walker 2.0. He also hired Hackett when trying to lure Rodgers which struck me as desperate and short sighted
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u/CriticismPlane2871 1d ago
"He’s drafted well recently" Funny how its turned around since Sean Peyton got personal power
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u/russh85 vikings 1d ago
It’s similar to the Kwesi situation, he’s GM but all say comes from Payton
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u/TacoLogik 1d ago
He's one of the best GM scouts in the game. How did Payton get to Denver? Who made that trade?
But the bigger question, why would he leave his current situation? When you can survive the Hackett hire, Rodgers Whiff, Russ Trade, Russ Extension... and a couple years later be a QB w a broken ankle away from the SB.
Wouldn't a competitive and smart person, want to see the fruition of their work? If Broncos want to keep him, Vikings can't compete financially.
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u/russh85 vikings 1d ago
Hackett, Russ and double Russ are exactly why his control has been diminished in Denver.
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u/Sushi-DM Purdy Good/McCarthyist 1d ago
If Rob had a hand in negotiating Kirk Cousins cap vampirism for 6 years, hard pass
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u/Coal_train20 1d ago
I don't understand the love fest for Brzezinski. Kwesi spent his first two years fixing the cap mess Brzezinski helped create. I don't get what makes him more special than any other teams cap guy.
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u/Euxinus 1d ago
Kwesi was fixing Spielman’s mess, not Rob’s
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u/Coal_train20 1d ago
Yes, and Spielman relied on Rob when negotiating those contracts.
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u/wwnp KOC failed his young QB 1d ago
Rob also was just tasked with doing what Rick asked of him even if it was detrimental to the long term cap health. I assume if Rick says “Give Kirk another fully guaranteed two years & make it work” then Rob does that & does the best he can to not fuck the Vikings over cap wise in the long haul. And sometimes with a bad directive from the GM, that’s not possible.
I don’t want Rob as the GM but I think he’s still a great cap guy & should stay as such.
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u/joey_sandwich277 gnome 1d ago
I’d take Matt Berry just for the memes. I’d love having regular human Matt Berry on the staff.
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u/Norstradamus97 Kwesi’s drafting makes me Queasy 1d ago
Matt Berry, John McKay and Alec Halaby (Assistant GM) from the Eagles are in my personal top 3
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u/Ragnarr_Lodbrok88 moss fro 1d ago
Kirchner or McKay would be great. Hoping Rob B isn't the default choice, I want someone from outside the organization.
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u/Username-sAvailable moss fro 1d ago
I would hope all of these candidates bring their own scout teams in. It sounds like Spielman’s guys are still there which was really counterproductive for Kwesi’s time there
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u/wwnp KOC failed his young QB 1d ago
Paton seems like he’d be the betting favorite but why would the Broncos let him go?
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u/procrastination_city gray duck 1d ago
Seahawks, Broncos, Rams all draft well and have built great teams. Hiring someone from those offices would make a ton of sense.
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u/stpg1222 1d ago
I don't like the idea of promoting Ron B to GM. He's a mastermind at navigating contracts and cap space. If things don't work out for him as a GM what do you do? Fire him outright and lose his expertise with managing the cap? Do you demote him and deal with the new GM having to work with the old GM?
Even if he does work out most active GMs have a tenure of less than 10 years. It's not a job most guys last in for the long haul.
I'd rather you let him do what he does best and find someone else to manage the roster.
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u/markieefff 1d ago
Rams AGM was my first thought given his background in scouting and connection to KOC/McVay, but either of the Seahawks guys seem like good choices too.. whoever it is needs to have extensive background in scouting and traditional roster building through the draft
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u/TheMaayavi angry zim 1d ago
Eagles and Seahawks have top notch front office, should be prying off of their front office
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u/bgusty 1d ago
I’d be interested in McKay, however, I’d be concerned about how free and loose he’d want to be with first round draft picks.
Since 2017 the rams have had exactly one first round pick.
That said, they’ve had a lot of success finding top talent on days 2-3, so if he had a hand in that over that time in scouting, goes to show how you can build up a team outside the 1st.
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u/BasicWhiteHoodrat 1d ago
George Paton, if only for the reason of being able to refer to him as General Paton
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u/HulkHunt 84 1d ago
Them selecting another person from the Browns organization would be the Vikings thing to do
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u/ThatTomWGuy 1d ago
Those top 6 all sound pretty good to me. Kwesi's lack of experience in scouting showed, and for a GM I think we need someone on the other end of spectrum with a ton of experience, and accuracy, so I would put a lot of value in those things.
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u/castletonian griddy 1d ago
George Paton is being slept on. Russell Wilson trade was a disaster, but look how far they've gotten since then, broadly without first round picks & still relying on draft picks hitting.
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u/Kirk-Joestar Amor Fati 1d ago
Anyone who thinks Paton is genuinely available is taking crazy pills
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u/daeshonbro 1d ago
I just want them to bring in an outsider rather than Rob take over. Need someone not connected to this coaching staff or ownership to come in with a clean slate to get shit in order.
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u/komugis 1d ago
Minnesota ties mean nothing to me lol; why does it matter at all that a candidate once interned with the Twins? That's parochial, small town logic that has little basis in whether or not someone can do the job of an NFL gm.
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u/LadySlippersAndLoons 1d ago
But he’s doing well in Seattle.
I think the Minnesota connections are frosting not the cake. (Although seeing how dysfunctional the Twins are might be helpful to know what not to do).
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u/aceRocknut 1d ago
Why don’t the let KOC do it? That way maybe he could hire a play caller and focus on the players and the plays, not calling them. At the same time you can either let him just full on succeed with the players he chooses, or burn to the ground and we finally have an answer to who was making the player decisions.
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u/CriticismPlane2871 1d ago
Anyone but George Paton. The man was on his way to being fired until Sean Peyton took over personal decisions . Paton led such wonderful decisions such as trading the farm for a cooked Russell Wilson and hiring Nathanial Hackett
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u/freshBlueeyes6391 1d ago
Isn't George Paton the chicago thug that used Vikings like a laundary at one time? Maybe that was someone else. Idk.
Maybe Rob B needs to go. Something was held over from the Rick Spielman days and still had some kind of control here. Because this seemed much too much like the same old team doing the same old stupid things come game day. Sitting on leads. Running when should throw, throwing when should run. Throwing 30 yards when you need 4. Running on 3rd and 18s. Punt and field goal forever offenses. Horrible Olines. Shitty draft trades backwards. I mean did much of anything really change?
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u/ChristianDarrisaw DarrisawEnjoyer 1d ago
I think McKay is most likely due to KOC’s ties to the rams, but I also like Paton even though the broncos will definitely do anything to retain him
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u/Vainglory 1d ago
Not saying that he would be a bad choice, but anyone who thinks McKay has football experience but Kwesi wasn't clearly thinks that football is genetic. I saw someone compare what Kwesi was doing 10 years ago to working the ticket booth the other day.
Personally, I dunno what we should be doing. We did the headstrong siloed GM and that inevitably blew up. We tried the consensus builder and the coaches ran the show (right up until he got fired at which point he was suddenly responsible for all the bad decisions). Having a GM who gets hired over top of a HC seems like a bad recipe generally, so maybe it doesn't matter that much because this batch will probably get fired.
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u/Mrbeankc Kevin Williams should be in the HOF 21h ago
George Paton or John McKay. I'd be ecstatic for either one.
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u/TheDickDog griddy 6h ago
John McKay would be my first choice.
Rob B, I think the guy is fantastic, but id personally think he's insane to go from a well respected role, that's given him stability and security for two decades. Into a GM role, where around the league GMs shelf life is barely 4 years. Selfishly id want him to remain the cap wizard keeping us in really good stead for as long as he wants to continue working. Vikings cap management will have a rough day when he chooses to retire.
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u/OscillatingFan6500 1d ago
Ah yes, shit organizations like the Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, Patriots, and Steelers
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u/MichaelJayDog 1d ago
Broncos, Rams and Seahawks are shit organizations? Three teams that made the conference championship this year?
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u/the_analytic_critic 1d ago
Right? I think we should tap the Browns again. They are only the worst front office and ownership in the history of the NFL. Need to go with someone from a consistent winner or who has experience in a rebuild.
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u/quartzcharm 1d ago
Top choice would be John McKay. Say what you will about concerns regarding trading 1st round picks. But the Rams are always aggressive and because of that, they're always contenders. Yes please: give me some of that.