David Levine
Posts: 81241
Joined: 7/14/2007
From: Las Vegas
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Good stuff from "Krauser" on the 4 "non Bryz" remaining candidates:
Current interim GM Rob Brzezinski
Denver Broncos Assistant GM Reed Burckhardt
Buffalo Bills Assistant GM Terrance Gray
Los Angeles Rams Assistant GM John McKay
Seattle Seahawks Assistant GM Nolan Teasley
Kevin O'Connell and John McKay may not know each other that well. McKay was the Rams assistant director of pro scouting in 2020 when KOC was brought in as the OC and pass scheme coordinator. McKay got promoted to director of pro personnel in 2021, KOC's last year in LA (their Super Bowl season). I don't know how much contact a coach/coordinator would have with a scouting director or even pro personnel director. Obviously they'd know each other but it's not like they worked together day in and day out. The equivalent relationship on the Vikings current org chart would be Sam DeLuca (director pro personnel) and Wes Phillips (OC) or Josh McCown (pass game coordinator).
Of course there are other reasons to consider McKay as a GM candidate, given the Rams success in team building over the past few years with him having an important role there. The Rams front office has taken an unusual approach to roster building: trading picks for blue chip vets, skipping the combine, etc. It's unclear if that's something the Wilfs would see as a positive or negative -- if they want an "innovative" GM at this point. It's also unclear if McKay is responsible for the Rams approach, or if he'd want to continue that as the GM for another team -- the internal dynamics of NFL front offices are impossible to understand from the outside. I think many Vikings fans would be unhappy if the new GM is trying to be innovative. After the Kwesi experience, many seem to want a "back to basics" approach instead.
Terrance Gray didn't have a leadership role with the Vikings before the Bills hired him away in 2017. He was a college scout at that point. His front office experience is all in Buffalo, where he's been one of the executives since at least 2022 (when he was promoted to director of player personnel). While the Bills have been one of the most successful teams in the league over the last several years, the 2022-25 era has arguably been a disappointment, given that they have basically the best player in the league but haven't been able to win the AFC. The team seems to have peaked with the 13 seconds game loss in KC, and that was in 2021. I don't think they've drafted well in the last few years.
Reed Burckhardt by contrast was promoted within the Vikings front office before he left, and was tabbed at one point by Rick Spielman as a future GM. He was the assistant director of pro scouting for Minnesota in 2020, then director of pro scouting in 2021. He was hired away by George Paton in 2022, a year after Paton took the Broncos GM job -- Paton said Burckhardt was one of the two Vikings front office staff he was determined to bring with him to Denver. Burckhardt wasn't involved in the trade for Russell Wilson, which was completed a couple of months before he moved to Denver.
Broncos front office has been re-organized around Sean Payton since they traded for him in 2023. Their model of a GM and personnel department supporting a HC who controls football operations is probably similar to what the Vikings are trying to do around KOC. They even have a similar dynamic with a highly successful DC who was a former HC in Vance Joseph, who likely has some personnel control on that side of the ball.
In that time, the Denver braintrust has built one of the best rosters in the league, despite a lack of early draft picks (most of them traded for Russell Wilson and for Payton himself). They've made only two 1st round picks since 2022 (Bo Nix #12 and Jahdae Barron #20) and their next highest pick was at #60. Broncos instead have found value with mid- and late-round picks (especially Nik Bonitto), free agent signings (Zach Allen, Hufanga, Franklin-Myers, McGlinchey), and now trades with the big move this year for Jaylen Waddle. Paton has given credit to Burckhardt for their work in free agency, so he's played some direct role in that. The result is that the Broncos probably have the best roster in the AFC, and would've gone to the Super Bowl last year if not for Nix's injury.
Nolan Teasley seems to be the favorite candidate of the fans who want an outsider with no ties to the organization or KOC, especially coming off a Super Bowl win with the Seahawks. Seattle's front office did a great job navigating out of the Pete Carroll / Russell Wilson era and they've hit on an absurd number of draft picks since 2022. Their draft record for several years prior to that (2017-21) was pretty bad, though it's unclear to what extent Teasley would be responsible for that. Carroll did seem to have some role in personnel selection as the HC working with GM John Schneider. Teasley's resume is impressive and I think he'd be a strong hire, but the lack of connection to the Vikings or the HC probably makes it less likely he's the guy for the Wilfs. A number of fans seem to want an outsider GM to take over the organization and replace everyone, but that doesn't seem to be the plan as the Wilfs are building around KOC.
...to sum that up, I think Teasley and Burckhardt are probably the strongest outside candidates, with McKay an interesting possibility, depending on your appetite for innovation. Not sure any of them have strong ties to KOC, and Burckhardt is only one with actual front office experience in Minnesota.
I think Burckhardt should be the favorite given his prior experience in the organization, and the likely parallels between the Broncos front office dynamic around Payton and what the Vikings seem to be trying to do to support KOC.
I think the Wilfs would have liked to bring back George Paton, and it was no coincidence the Broncos announced he'd gotten an extension right around the time the Vikings GM search began. They can still hire Paton's right-hand man in Burckhardt, and that would be a strong choice given his role in the Broncos impressive roster building over the last few years. Probably doesn't hurt that Burckhardt is a local guy, from small town Russell MN (population 348).
https://www.dailynorseman.com/minnesota-vikings-news/96892/minnesota-vikings-narrow-gm-list-final-five
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