The Vikings took another step in their search for the next general manager, requesting 5 candidates for in-person interviews. Cutting their list in half, the finalists for the job are interim GM Rob Brzezinski, Broncos’ Reed Burckhardt, Bills’ Terrance Gray, Rams’ John McKay, and Seahawks’ Nolan Teasley.
Besides Brzezinski, all of the other candidates currently serve as assistant general managers. Apart from Teasley, all of the candidates have deep connections with the team.
Several Candidates Fit Minnesota’s Front Office Blueprint
One thing that I really like about this group is that the four external candidates are from successful teams. I’m not saying there aren’t good candidates in underperforming teams, but coming from teams that consistently make playoff runs, they are candidates who see every day how to build a competitive franchise.
The Candidates
To be honest, the candidate I want the least is Rob Brzezinski. It’s not that I think he can’t or won’t do a good job, but because I think the Vikings need to change some personnel in the front office, and I don’t think he will do that. I’m also afraid he would be more sentimental than he should be when making some decisions, like the overpay for Adam Thielen last year.
The leadership aspect is very important, and both the Wilfs and Kevin O’Connell praised Brzezinski’s ability to gel the front office and coaching staff. The owners have gone on record saying that leadership will be more important than how well the candidate scouts or performs in any other part of the job.
Reed Burckhardt, Paton’s right-hand man in Denver, knows the Vikings very well, having spent 13 years in Minnesota before moving to Colorado with Paton. The director of player personnel for 3 years before being promoted to assistant GM, Burckhardt would likely bring back some of the things we were used to when Rick Spielman ran things in Minnesota, as both Paton and Burckhardt worked for him for a long time, and Paton was Spielman’s protegé.
Burckhardt has played a key role in the Broncos’ roster-building operation since 2022, and given how talented they are, especially on defense, it’s safe to say he did a good job.
Terrence Gray is the third candidate who spent some time in Minnesota, working as a college scout for 10 years. When Brendon Beane got the GM job in Buffalo (2017), he convinced Gray to leave the Vikings and join him with the Bills as a college scouting director.
In the 9 seasons he spent in Buffalo, Gray climbed through the ranks and is now one of Beane’s most trusted advisors. Like other candidates, Gray was a prime GM candidate in January, interviewing with multiple teams and becoming a finalist for several.
The last candidate with some familiarity is John McKay, the Rams assistant general manager. He never worked for the Vikings, but McKay and O’Connell were with the Rams in 2020 and 2021. McKay went through the “usual” route, but with a very fast climb, starting as a scouting assistant in 2016. He was then promoted to director of pro personnel in 2021 and assistant general manager in 2025.
According to the Rams’ website, McKay helps with all arrivals and departures, except for evaluating every roster (including their own) before free agency.
I don’t think anyone on the Vikings has a prior relationship with Nolan Teasley. And in a world where existing relationships are everything, this speaks volumes about Teasley’s ascent with the Seahawks. Like McKay, Teasley rose through pro personnel scouting rather than college scouting. Teasley also had a quick climb, starting as an intern in 2013, then spending three seasons as a scout, one as assistant director of pro personnel, five as director, and three as assistant general manager.
According to the team’s website, Teasley does a lot within the organization, helping oversee all aspects of player acquisition, roster development, the use of data in the scouting process, and, very importantly, given what the Wilf brothers have said, ongoing communication among the scouting, research, and analytics departments.
So, Who Will Be The Next Vikings’ GM?
The GM process is more difficult for us on the outside than the HC. Although it isn’t the only part of the job, and there are more important aspects, we can always look at his job as a playcaller. We can’t always do the same when evaluating GM prospects, though, as everything happens behind closed doors. We don’t know how influential that person was in the roster building.
Apart from Brzezinski, who the team knows extremely well (and us at some point, too), we can’t pinpoint what the other four candidates were doing. They all come from successful teams in the last few seasons, but how influential they were in that success is what the Wilfs must figure out.
Although Burckhardt and Gray certainly learned new things in their time away from Minnesota, I honestly think the Vikings need someone with a new philosophy as the GM. The ownership pushed a lot of chips when they signed Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, thinking they’d be ahead of the curve. I don’t think this was a bad bet, just one that didn’t pan out.
The solution, to me, is to bring someone in for a fresh start, rather than trying to replicate Rick Spielman or something similar.
Again, I’m not saying that any of them aren’t qualified for the Vikings’ GM job, or that Spielman was a bad GM. But rather, this team has been stuck on the same ideas for a long time, has tried something different for a bit, and shouldn’t default to what they know. When we look at the curriculum of the five candidates, four have a scouting background, with the exception being Rob Brzezinski.
The Wilfs have repeatedly said they will value leadership and communication highly in this process, but the fact that the candidates come from this pipeline is interesting (and somewhat telling).
With all that being said, my two favorite candidates are McKay and Teasley. McKay has a relationship with Kevin O’Connell, working for him, and we know that KOC has a lot of say in the franchise. Whenever someone climbs the ranks so quickly, and at a very successful team, like the recent Los Angeles Rams, it’s usually a good sign. But maybe 2026 is a bit too early for John McKay.
Teasley also had a very fast climb in the Seahawks’ front office, going from an intern to director of pro personnel in just 5 years. He also has more experience in higher-level positions, has helped John Schneider rebuild the roster post-Russell Wilson, and has a defined role in Seattle, ensuring every part of the front office is connected, which aligns directly with what the Vikings’ ownership said they want.
I think Teasley embodies the mix of scouting, analytics, and the ability to communicate his ideas to multiple departments that the Vikings really need right now.