Vikings ownership signed off on a two-pronged front office setup, and with Kevin O’Connell sticking around after the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah firing, the fifth-year head coach will be expected to carry considerable influence as well.
Minnesota hired Seattle exec Nolan Teasley as GM but retained longtime front office presence Rob Brzezinski, who had been serving as interim GM since Adofo-Mensah’s late-January firing. Brzezinski is in place as executive VP of football operations, and while that is a lofty title, he will still check in below Teasley regarding organizational power.
Brzezinski will report to Teasley, Vikings owner Mark Wilf said (via ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert). Teasley will also control the Vikings’ 53-man roster. However, Wilf confirmed both O’Connell and Teasley will report to ownership.
“He’s the general manager of the organization. He has final say on the roster, of the 53, but in the end, he’s going to lean heavily … on our head coach, obviously, and people like Rob Brzezinski in the building that have deep experience and skill sets that are complementary,” Wilf said of Teasley.
“… That’s the structure. That’s the way it is. [But] if it comes to structure, we’ve got a problem. The end result is making sure leaders collaborate, work together.”
With O’Connell and Teasley each reporting to ownership, Brzezinski profiles as more high-ranking lieutenant after the team’s decision not to hire him as its full-time GM. Brzezinski joined Teasley and three other assistant GMs — Terrance Gray (Bills), Reed Burckhardt (Broncos) and John McKay (Rams) — in receiving second interviews for the gig. McKay had worked with O’Connell previously in Los Angeles, while Burckhardt and Gray each spent more than a decade with the Vikings prior to joining their current teams. Teasley had no ties to the Vikes, but the team ensured some level of continuity by retaining Brzezinski — a Minnesota staffer since 1999.
O’Connell was “very involved” with the Vikings’ decision to hire Teasley, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said during a Pat McAfee Show appearance. We heard in April this would be the case, and O’Connell will certainly have a major voice in personnel decisions moving forward.
With Teasley in place atop the Vikes’ front office hierarchy, the Seahawks will receive two third-round picks due to the new hire’s status as a minority candidate. This comes after the NFL did not award the Bears two third-rounders for minority staffer Ian Cunningham‘s departure for the Falcons’ GM job. The league ruled Matt Ryan‘s presence as the top Atlanta football-side exec did not warrant the Bears receiving compensation, as Cunningham has effectively been deemed second-in-command with the Falcons.
Teasley, 42, comes over after 13 years with the Seahawks. He joined their front office ahead of the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII-winning season and bookended his Pacific Northwest stay by being John Schneider‘s top lieutenant when the 2025 Seahawks steamrolled to the Super Bowl LX title.
O’Connell’s influence expanded during his first four years at the helm, Seifert adds, noting the former NFL Coach of the Year is not expected to see his roster-building role scaled back after the Teasley hire. Ownership has certainly empowered the head coach in having him report to ownership. Several coaches have this power, though not all do. Wilf said in January the decision to fire Adofo-Mensah — who is now a 49ers exec — was 100% ownership-driven, attempting to absolve O’Connell there. He is far from the first HC to have influence in a GM hire, and the Vikings will hope a collaborative approach will help them turn the corner.