Five New Names Emerge as Candidates in Vikings' General Manager Search

We're up to six known candidates (not including Rob Brzezinski) for Minnesota's GM vacancy.

Aug 26, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler looks on during the game against the New England Patriots at Allegiant Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As the Vikings ramp up their search for their next general manager, new names of external candidates they're looking to interview are trickling in via the league's top insiders.

We learned on Wednesday that the Vikings have requested an interview with Bills assistant GM Terrance Gray, who previously spent over a decade with Minnesota as a scout. On Thursday, five more names have emerged via reports from ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Let's take a quick look at each of the five, all of whom are currently an assistant general manager for the team listed by their name (and all of whom come from traditional scouting backgrounds). Remember, interim Vikings GM Rob Brzezinski is also in consideration for the job, and other candidates may continue to emerge in the coming days.

Dave Ziegler, Titans

Ziegler is a fairly big name in the NFL executive world because he's already been a general manager in the league. In 2022, the Raiders hired him to replace Mike Mayock, but the pairing of Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels didn't make it two full years before they were fired on Halloween in 2023.

Before his stint in Vegas, Ziegler spent nine years with the Patriots in different scouting and personnel roles. He got his start in the NFL with the Broncos before that. Over the last two years, Ziegler was a personnel advisor for the Saints and then spent last year as the Titans' assistant GM.

John McKay, Rams

McKay is the son of longtime NFL executive Rich McKay, who was with the Falcons from 2003-2025. He's the grandson of former USC and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach John McKay. The younger McKay has been with the Rams for a decade, meaning he overlapped with Kevin O'Connell for a couple years. He's learned from a very successful leadership duo of Les Snead and Sean McVay.

John McKay | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Nolan Teasley, Seahawks

It might not be a bad idea for the Vikings to poach their GM from the reigning Super Bowl champions. Teasley has been with Seattle for 12 years, working his way up from an internship to director of pro personnel and then assistant GM under John Schneider.

Chad Alexander, Chargers

Alexander has been around for a while. He began his NFL front office career with the Ravens in 1999 and was with Baltimore for two decades, mostly as a scout and then as assistant director of player personnel. He was the Jets' director of player personnel from 2019-23 and has spent the last two seasons with the Chargers under Joe Hortiz.

RJ Gillen, 49ers

Gillen has spent 11 seasons with the 49ers, with 2025 being his first as assistant GM. Like others on this list, he rose up on the scouting side and was previously a director of both player and pro personnel. The 49ers, led by John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, have been one of the more consistently successful franchises in the NFL over the past decade or so.