Denver Broncos' Front Office Just Dodged a Major Bullet

The Denver Broncos have officially dodged a bullet.

Broncos assistant GM Reed Burckhardt went through two rounds of interviews with the Minnesota Vikings for their vacant general manager job. With his strong ties to the Vikings and past experience with the club, he was a strong candidate for the opportunity.

Fortunately for Denver, the Vikings have reportedly opted to hire Seattle Seahawks assistant GM Nolan Teasley. Tom Pelissero broke the news on Saturday.

The Vikings agreed to terms with Seahawks assistant GM Nolan Teasley as their general manager, sources tell NFL Network.

Fresh off a Super Bowl win, Teasley — regarded as one of the NFL’s top young executives — now will try to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/6u022MCHri
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 30, 2026

Burckhardt spent 13 years in the Vikings' front office, back when George Paton served as the top lieutenant to then-GM Rick Spielman. When Paton left for the Broncos' GM job in 2021, Burckhardt stuck around Minnesota one more season before following him west to the Rocky Mountains as Denver's director of player personnel.

When the New York Jets hired Paton's assistant GM, Darren Mougey, as their general manager in the spring of 2025, Burckhardt was promoted to fill that vacancy. Bruckhardt is "real important" to the Broncos' process as a scout, analyst, and a sounding board for Paton and head coach Sean Payton.

“He’s real important to our process. We have a good group," Payton said last summer of Burckhardt and the Broncos' front office. "He’s passionate, and you have to be in that business. It can be lonely. It’s not for everyone. Hotels, laptop computer, film. He has a real good eye for talent. He’s not afraid to give you his opinion even if it’s contrary to maybe what you want to hear.”

Stanching the Front-Office Bleeding

George Paton and Sean Payton. — Denver Broncos GM George Paton and head coach Sean Payton. | Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos

The turnaround orchestrated by Paton and Payton in Denver hasn't gone unnoticed around the NFL. Since early 2025, the Broncos have lost key voices in the scouting department to outside promotions, including Mougey, Brian Stark, and Mark Thewes, the latter two of whom were hired by the Las Vegas Raiders.

It would have been a setback for the Broncos to lose another assistant GM in back-to-back offseasons, but thankfully, the Vikings went a different direction. Even if Minnesota had hired Burckhardt, though, so long as Paton remains at the top of the front-office totem pole, the Broncos will continue apace with indetecable disruption to their process, from the outside looking in.

That's not to minimize Burckhardt's impact; as Payton said, Burckhardt is "real important." But the front-office buck stops with Paton.

Paton himself was just extended by the Broncos earlier this month. He garnered a five-year deal that will keep him in the GM chair through the 2030 season.

It's not just the front office that has been pilfered by outside teams. Earlier this year, the Broncos lost secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard and senior offensive assistant Pete Carmichael to the Buffalo Bills, who hired them as defensive and offensive coordinator, respectively.

Figuring out how to retain front-office personnel and coaches in the face of outside competition is a good problem to have, though. It signifies how the Broncos have become an NFL bellwether. The league is looking to the Broncos and wants a taste of what Paton and Payton have got cooking.

This offseason could have been worse — if Davis Webb had been offered one of the head-coaching jobs he interviewed for. Fortunately, the Broncos managed to keep Davis in the fold, though it required Payton to create an expanded role for him, which meant firing Joe Lombardi as offensive coordinator.

Payton then opted to give Webb the primary play-calling duties as the team's new offensive coordinator, while Logan Kilgore takes over as the new quarterbacks coach. Time will tell whether Webb is able to thrive out of the gates as a first-time play-caller, but if Payton trusts him, that's a rubberstamp Broncos Country can likely hang its hat on.

The Takeaway

For now, the Broncos will keep the front-office band together. Burckhardt will remain in Denver as Paton's righthand man, and show will go on.

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