MN Vikings GM Search is Wide Open; Might Include Rob Brzezinski

Now that the draft is over, the Minnesota Vikings are turning their attention to finding a new general manager. It’s an offseason mission that’s somewhat gone by the wayside in recent months, lost in the shuffle among all the free agency and NFL Draft talkers that take over the sports world this time of year.

But when May hits, the league resets and quickly turns focus from the offseason to training camp. This is the time of year where those in the front office (like scouts across each organization), get new directives and plans for the upcoming football season.

That poses a problem for a Vikings franchise that still needs a front office leader. Because naming a general manager will likely mean a shift in priorities and personnel. Which is why the Wilfs have made it clear that they will move on hiring a new GM expeditiously.

“We know we need to get moving to get ready for the college season…We’ll move toward a relatively expeditious process.”

Mark Wilf – NFL League Meetings (via The Athletic)

Given the circumstances, the easy hire would be Rob Brzezinski, who has been operating as acting general manager since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired in late-January. That’s what most inside the organization want, which makes sense, since their jobs would be more secure if the Wilfs keep the status quo.

Minnesota Vikings will conduct thorough GM search

But is that the right decision? Or, should the Minnesota Vikings owners look for an outside hire that would undoubtedly shake up the organization in ways that taking the interim tag off Rob B. would not?

Well, we do not know the answer to that question yet. However, the Wilfs claim they have no plans to take the easy way out of their untimely GM dilemma.

In fact, according to Kevin Seifert (ESPN), Rob may not even be a candidate. And if he is, the longtime Vikings executive won’t get any preferential treatment during the hiring process.

There remains plenty of support among staffers for Brzezinski to get a promotion, even as he has continued to put off those discussions. By all indications, the Wilfs are going to run a genuinely open-ended search. It could include Brzezinski, but he is in no way a preferred candidate.

Much of the Vikings’ existing front office hangs in the balance…Their futures would be much more secure if Brzezinski was promoted than if a new general manager was hired from the outside.

Kevin Seifert – ESPN

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Even if you expected the MN Vikings to conduct a thoughtful general manager search that seriously considered outside candidates, the last note by Seifert, that Brzezinski “could be a candidate” is worth highlighting in bright yellow ink.

Rob Brzezinski may or may not be a candidate for GM job…

Why wouldn’t Rob by a candidate? Is it because he doesn’t want the job or are the Wilfs really trying to shake up the front office and put the entire organization on notice, with this hire?

While there are candidates out there who have worked in Minnesota before, and others who have a lot of connections at TCO Performance Center, there’s no getting around the jarring difference between an external hire vs a promotion for Rob Brzezinski.

It’s also possible Rob doesn’t want to be the general manager, something that was floated by Alec Lewis (The Athletic) on Tuesday. Lewis also notes that keeping Brzezinski would indeed be the cheapest option.

…if Brzezinski wants the job. The Vikings asked him to shepherd the team through the last three months. Rather than make decisions based on optics and how they would be perceived, Brzezinski cut costs and took a major draft-day swing.

Alec Lewis – The Athletic

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He’s been here a long time and general manager is not a position that usually breeds longevity. It’s possible Brzezinski wouldn’t want to put his life in Minnesota in jeopardy like that.

Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how this all unfolds, as the MN Vikings start contacting potential candidates and we start to learn more about the plan for the interim GM both during and after it all plays out.

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