Denver Broncos Hire Vikings' George Paton as General Manager

Paton has finally accepted a GM job, which is a big loss for the Vikings' front office.

Longtime Vikings Assistant GM George Paton has finally decided to take a head job in the NFL. The Denver Broncos are hiring him to a six-year deal to be their next GM, according to several reports.

This is a big loss for Minnesota, even if many casual fans may have never heard of Paton. He has been in the Vikings' front office for 14 years as the right-hand man to GM Rick Spielman and has played a big role in the team's acquisition of talent over the years. Paton is widely respected across the NFL and has been the main voice in Spielman's ear when it comes to evaluating players in the draft and making other personnel decisions.

Spielman, Paton, and salary cap guru Rob Brzezinski have been the three leaders of the Vikings' front office for quite some time now. They've all been in Minnesota since at least 2006, when the Vikings hired Spielman as their director of player personnel. Paton's relationship with Spielman dates back to their time together with the Bears in the late 1990s and the Dolphins in the early 2000s. That trio of men are very close to each other.

As I wrote the other day, Paton has had numerous chances over the years to become a GM, but up to this point hadn't decided to take a job. Teams had shown interest in him in basically every year since 2012, which made it both surprising that he remained in Minnesota as long as he did and surprising that he has finally chosen to leave. For whatever reason, Paton must view the Broncos job as a great fit with good timing.

What's worrisome for the Vikings is that this may not be the only loss from their front office. Paton may try to take some of the people he trusts with him, including director of college scouting Jamaal Stephenson. That would be another huge loss that would specifically affect the NFL Draft. There could be others heading to Denver with Paton as well.

As pointed out by ESPN's Courtney Cronin, one Vikings employee who could be in line for a promotion with Paton's departure is director of pro scouting Ryan Monnens.

Paton is officially headed to Denver, and we'll have to wait and see what the ripple effects are. Regardless, this is a big loss for a Vikings team that has prided itself on being successful in the draft and building strong all-around rosters over the past decade-plus.

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