7 Candidates to Be the Minnesota Vikings' Next General Manager

After firing general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday, the Vikings aren't going to immediately launch into a search for his replacement. Longtime executive and salary cap specialist Rob Brzezinski will lead football operations for the next few months. He'll work closely with Kevin O'Connell and the coaching staff, as well as Ryan Grigson, Demitrius Washington, and other prominent figures in the front office during a critical period of roster building.

Once the NFL draft has come and gone in late April, the Vikings will begin a "thorough" search for a new general manager. And even though that won't happen for a little while, it's worth looking ahead and having some names to keep in mind for when Minnesota's GM search does begin in earnest.

It feels like a near certainty that after making an outside-the-box hire with Adofo-Mensah, who came from an analytics and non-football background, the Vikings will reverse course and hire someone from a traditional scouting and personnel background. "I’d expect an older school type with a strong scouting background, someone rooted in traditional evaluation and personnel building," Dianni Russini tweeted.

That probably rules out someone like Alec Halaby, the Eagles' assistant GM under Howie Roseman who interviewed for the Dolphins' vacancy this offseason. Halaby is likely a future GM, but he's a Harvard grad with a pure analytics background, so it seems rather unlikely he'd be in consideration in Minnesota, even if nothing should be completely off the table.

There are dozens of people who could theoretically be hired as the Vikings' next GM sometime in May, but here are seven names worth stashing in the back of your mind.

Rob Brzezinski, Vikings

We have to start with the most notable in-house candidate. Brzezinski, who has been with the Vikings since 1999, will serve as the de facto GM over the next three months. If ownership likes the way that dynamic works this offseason, they won't necessarily need to bring in someone new from outside the organization. Brzezinski is highly respected for his cap management and negotiating ability, and he has a staff full of front office executives and coaches he can lean on. There's a world where Brzezinski gets the full-time GM title and Kevin O'Connell essentially remains the CEO of the entire operation.

Several people who have been around the Vikings have stated their public support for Brzezinski since Adofo-Mensah was fired. That includes former players Ben Leber and Kyle Rudolph, as well as Minnesota-based agent Blake Baratz.

"Rob is someone with a tremendous amount of experience, he's been over a quarter century in this league and we have a lot of confidence in him," owner Mark Wilf said on Friday.

Grigson could be another possible internal option, though it's hard to see that going over well with the fan base. Fair or not, his reputation is being the guy who caused Andrew Luck's retirement by not building a capable offensive line while he was running the Colts.

Ray Agnew, Lions

Agnew fits the "old school football guy" bill. The 58-year-old was a first-round pick in 1990 who spent a decade in the NFL as a defensive lineman and a won a Super Bowl with the Rams. He then worked in the Rams' organization for almost two decades, where his titles included director of player development, team pastor, director of pro scouting, and director of pro personnel. Agnew's final year with the Rams came in 2020, when O'Connell was hired as their offensive coordinator. Agnew then followed Brad Holmes to Detroit in 2021, where he's spent the last five years as assistant GM. Few teams, if any, have drafted better than the Lions in the 2020s.

Ben Johnson and Ray Agnew in 2023 | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ed Dodds, Colts

Dodds is someone who feels almost overdue for an opportunity to be a general manager. He's been involved in several searches in recent years, even becoming a finalist for the Titans' job a year ago. Dodds got his start as a scouting intern with the Raiders in 2003 and then spent a decade with the Seahawks, first as a scout and later as a senior personnel executive under John Schneider. Since 2018, he's been the Colts' assistant GM under Chris Ballard. The résumé is there.

John McKay, Rams

McKay is a slightly younger option who has quite the family history in football. His grandfather, also named John McKay, was the longtime head coach of USC and then the Buccaneers in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. His dad, Rich McKay, is a former GM of the Bucs and Falcons who remains a top executive with Atlanta. The younger John McKay joined the Rams as a scouting assistant in 2016 and was promoted by Les Snead from director of pro personnel to assistant GM last year. The Rams have been a model franchise in recent years, and O'Connell knows McKay from his two years in LA.

John McKay and Falcons owner Arthur Blank in 2016 | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Terrance Gray, Bills

Gray is viewed as a rising star in the industry and has interviewed for four different GM openings in the last couple years. The Bills promoted him from director of player personnel to assistant GM last year. Gray began his career with the Vikings as a college scout under Rick Spielman. He's been with the Bills in some capacity since 2017.

Glenn Cook, Browns

It's possible the Vikings could dip back into the list of candidates they interviewed before hiring Adofo-Mensah in 2022. Most of them are now current GMs, but there are a few that aren't. Cook has been with the Browns for a decade after coming up with the Colts and Packers. Before that, he played linebacker at the University of Miami. Cleveland has had some struggles, but they put together quite the 2025 draft class. The issue here is that the Vikings may not want to hire two straight general managers from the same organization. The Giants' Brandon Brown is another interesting candidate who the Vikings interviewed four years ago.

George Paton, Broncos

Let's end with a sneaky longshot option. Paton is currently the general manager in Denver and has been since 2021. But before that, he was with the Vikings from 2007-20 under Spielman, and it's believed that people in Minnesota still think very highly of him. As noted by The Athletic's Mike Sando, Paton is entering the final year of his contract in 2026. The Broncos will likely find a way to keep him around, but if you're the Vikings, it's at least worth checking in to see if there's any way you can pry Paton away from Denver.

George Paton in 2024 | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images