Patience is a virtue. That’s the takeaway early this week regarding the Minnesota Vikings’ search for a new general manager. SI.com‘s Albert Breer updated the search, claiming an announcement may take a bit longer than expected.
Minnesota’s ownership group appears willing to let the process breathe before making its next front-office call.
The Vikings’ ownership group has a vast pool of applicants and might not be in a huge rush.
Minnesota Appears Comfortable Taking Its Time
Perhaps a couple more weeks are needed to identify the next GM?
Breer on the Vikings’ GM Process
Breer offered a rather insightful level-set of Minnesota’s current GM situation, with all eyes on the next guy.
He wrote, “The Vikings’ GM search could take a bit. Minnesota has now worked through a list of eight candidates, interviewing assistant GMs from the 49ers (RJ Gillen), Bills (Terrance Gray), Broncos (Reed Burckhardt), Dolphins (Kyle Smith), Lions (Ray Agnew), Rams (John McKay), Seahawks (Nolan Teasley) and Titans (Dave Ziegler) over Zoom last week, as well as interim GM Rob Brzezinski.”
“The interviews lasted about an hour, with owner Mark Wilf and coach Kevin O’Connell running the show and COO Andrew Miller and others from the Wilf management group taking part as well. They covered some big-picture topics and drilled down on how candidates saw their team. The plan is for the Vikings to regroup today to map out the coming weeks. The trouble is this is a bit of a busy week for the franchise.”
The Vikings fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the former general manager from 2022 to 2025, in late January due to a poor draft record and questionable quarterback roster decisions.
Breer continued, “The expectation is that the Twin Cities will be awarded the 2028 draft at the meetings, so a big contingent, including ownership, will be in Orlando for that. And with a holiday weekend coming up, there’s a good chance in-person interviews with finalists for the job won’t happen until next week.”
“Without competition for candidates out there—the Vikings are the only team looking for a GM — Minnesota can afford to be patient. That said, there’s also an acknowledgment there that it’d be good to get the new GM in soon so he can get started with O’Connell before the summer break commences in mid-June.”
Surprise 2028 Draft Nugget
Tucked in the Breer piece was the predictive draft nugget. A few hours before the rest of the world had the intel, Breer spilled the beans on Minneapolis as the host city of the 2028 NFL Draft. That’s happening now, and NFL owners will vote to finalize the measure this week.
Reuters noted after the Breer prognostication: “NFL owners are expected to vote Tuesday to confirm Minneapolis as the host of the 2028 NFL Draft, ESPN reported Monday. The 2026 draft took place in Pittsburgh last month, with the 2027 event scheduled for the National Mall in Washington, D.C.”
“NBC Sports reported that the 2028 draft itself would be conducted in and around U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings since 2016, and also would have a presence all around the Twin Cities.”
Minneapolis will become the NFL’s epicenter for one weekend in April 2028.
The Interim Option
While the process of finding a new boss may not be in any particular hurry, one can’t help but wonder about Brzezinski, the incumbent. He’s been a part of the franchise since 1999 — so 27 years — and now would be a very strange time for him to leave. Hell, he’s acted as the main general manager for 3.5 months, and most approve of his job performance.
Therefore, keeping in mind Brzezinski as a front-and-center figure in this search, his fate could bend a few ways:
- Brzezinski will shed the “interim title” and become the full-time general manager.
- He’ll simply return to his old job, affectionately known to Vikings fans as the “cap wizard” or “money guy.”
- The Vikings will carve out a custom setup for Brzezinski to have more power while giving the new general manager more responsibility over the draft, for example, while likely keeping O’Connell as the franchise’s main face.
It’s a long way of saying that Brzezinski is important to the Vikings.
June as the New Timeline?
Interviews began last week, and conventional logic suggested Minnesota could have a candidate in place by May 24th or so. Per the Breer reporting, that could be pushed back by a week or two if the Wilfs are not in a hurry.
June feels like a new date for the announcement. The NFL calendar — compared to other months — slows to a crawl in June and during the first three weeks of July. Hiring a new general manager sometime in June would be an appropriate time.
That’s probably the new expected date. Vikings organized team activities (OTAs) kick off on May 26th.
