Flood of New MN Vikings GM Candidates Revealed

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Minnesota Vikings GM candidate, John McKay (Rams)
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings are ramping up their search for a new general manager. After reports broke on Wednesday that the Vikings requested an interview with Bills assistant GM Terrance Gray, a flood of new interview requests have leaked through insider social circles Thursday.

Until we hear differently, longtime Vikings executive Rob Brzezinski — who ran the front office on an interim basis, after Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired — will remain the theoretical frontrunner.

Flood of Minnesota Vikings GM candidates finally rolls in

However, recent reports suggest the Wilfs are going into this process void of a favorite, even Brzezinski. Thus, Gray — along with the other outside candidates listed below — are just as likely to be the MN Vikings’ next general manager as Rob is.

It’s worth noting that all the candidates below come from a scouting background. Clearly, that is at least one non-variable criteria that all of these candidates share. According to Kevin Seifert (ESPN), the below list of candidates successfully satisfies the league’s Rooney Rule.

Dave Ziegler – Tennessee Titans Assistant GM

Dave Ziegler was the first interview request to hit the internet on Thursday. He has been an NFL executive since 2013 and won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

He was not in Boston when O’Connell was (2008), but he was with the Patriots while defensive coordinator Brian Flores was (2018-21). Ziegler has more experience than the younger guys on this list and he’s the only candidate made public so far who has previous general manager experience.

In total, he’s worked for five different teams, since entering the league in 2010. In 2022, he was hired as GM of the Raiders, where he infamously traded for DaVante Adams. Ziegler was fired after two seasons running the show in Vegas, along with then head coach Josh McDaniels.

Before being hired as the Tennessee Titans assistant GM, in January 2025, Ziegler also spent some time with the New Orleans Saints..

  • Denver Broncos (2010–2012)
    • Player personnel assistant (2010)
    • Scout (2011–2012)
  • New England Patriots (2013–2021)
    • Assistant director of pro scouting (2013–2015)
    • Director of pro personnel (2016–2019)
    • Assistant director of player personnel (2020)
    • Director of player personnel (2021)
  • Las Vegas Raiders (2022–2023)
    • General manager
  • New Orleans Saints (2024)
    • Personnel advisor
  • Tennessee Titans (2025–present)
    • Assistant general manager

Chad Alexander – LA Chargers Assistant GM

If the Minnesota Vikings really want to push the run game, Chad Alexander might be their guy. It’s no surprise he has worked so well with Jim Harbaugh. He seems like an old school football guy who loves to draft under-the-radar talent, especially at running back.

Alexander, the most veteran NFL executive on the Vikings’ list of interview requests, has gotten a lot of credit for the LA Chargers’ recent draft successes. Since coming on board as part of the Jim Harbaugh regime in 2024 — he helped them scout and draft RB Omarion Hampton, OL Joe Alt and RB Kimani Vidal.

We know Minnesota wants to change their identity a bit, especially on offense, and Alexander is considered a “rising star” among league executives. Still this would appear to be a drastic change both in organizational philosophy and on-field offensive style.

  • Baltimore Ravens (1999–2018)
    • Scout (2003–2008)
    • Assistant director of player personnel (2009–2018)
  • New York Jets (2019–2023)
    • Director of player personnel
  • Los Angeles Chargers (2024–present)
    • Assistant general manager

John McKay – LA Rams Assistant GM

Now, onto the younger generation candidates the Minnesota Vikings have contacted for interviews. The first to touch on is definitely Los Angeles Rams assistant GM, John McKay — who happens to be a good friend of O’Connell’s.

McKay has been with the Rams since 2016, joining the organization just a couple of years before KOC did (2020-2021), while KOC was in LA as an assistant coach under Sean McVay.

Out of all the younger, less-experienced executives on the new GM candidates list, McKay would be the favorite to land the job, out of the gates.

  • Los Angeles Rams (2016-present)
    • Scouting assistant (2016)
    • Assistant director of pro scouting (2016–2020)
    • Director of pro personnel (2021-24)
    • Assistant general manager (2025)

RJ Gillen – San Francisco 49ers Assistant GM

This one is interesting. Another guy who has yet to leave his origin organization, RJ Gillen has spent all eleven of his NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he has become John Lynch’s right-hand man.

Some surface-level research says this would be a more similar hire to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, except with a scouting background. It sounds like he uses modern-day analytics combined with a ton of tape and in-person scouting to find and target players that fall through the cracks with other teams.

Whatever he’s good at, it’s working because Gillen is seen as a key piece to one of the more successful front offices in football over the past decade — mostly since John Lynch arrived in the bay two years after he did.

  • San Francisco 49ers (2015–2016)
    • Pro personal scout (2015–2019)
    • Director of pro personnel (2020–2022)
    • Director of player personnel (2023-24)
    • Assistant general manager (2025)

Nolan Teasley – Seattle Seahawks Assistant GM

Nolan Teasley is another young executive who has been around about as long as McKay and Gillen — the mid 2010s. He’s seen as one of the top-decision makers in a front office that successfully phased out the Russell Wilson era in Seattle back in 2021, which seemed like an impossible task at the time.

After dealing Wilson to Denver, the Seahawks transitioned to Gino Smith and eventually Sam Darnold — who won them a Super Bowl in 2025, one year after the MVP candidate QB saved his career with the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s no coincidence that Teasley, who comes from a scouting background just like the other candidates named publicly, began climbing quickly up the Seahawks executive ladder during their successful franchise reset.

  • Seattle Seahawks (2014–present)
    • Pro personnel scout (2014-2016)
    • Assistant director of pro personnel (2017)
    • Director of pro personnel (2018-22)
    • Assistant general manager (2022-Present)
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