Vikings Complete Second Interviews With Five GM Candidates
MAY 28: Minnesota has completed its second round of GM interviews, The Athletic’s Alec Lewis tweets. Those wrapped Thursday afternoon. A decision should be expected by early June at the latest, Lewis adds.
MAY 20: The Vikings are making progress in their search for a general manager. The team has requested in-person, second-round interviews with interim GM Rob Brzezinski and four assistant GMs from other teams, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. The list includes Reed Burckhardt (Broncos), Terrance Gray (Bills), John McKay (Rams) and Nolan Teasley (Seahawks).
The Vikings have been without a full-time GM since they fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in late January, which occurred three weeks after the end of a disappointing 9-8 season. Brzezinski, who has been with the Vikings in various roles dating back to 1999, has since guided them through the heart of the offseason. As the Vikings’ executive vice president of football operations since 2014, Brzezinski is a serious candidate for a full-time promotion. Perhaps Brzezinski’s familiarity with Vikings ownership and head coach Kevin O’Connell will tip the scale in his favor.
With help from search firm TurnKeyZRG, the Vikings began looking for Adofo-Mensah’s replacement after last month’s draft. In addition to the names mentioned above, they requested initial interviews with Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew, Dolphins AGM Kyle Smith, Titans AGM Dave Ziegler, 49ers AGM R.J. Gillen and Chargers AGM Chad Alexander. After Alexander withdrew from the race on his own last week, it appears the Vikings have now crossed off Agnew, Smith, Ziegler and Gillen as possibilities.
As for the contenders still competing with Brzezinski, a couple have notable Vikings connections. Before becoming the Broncos’ director of player personnel in 2022, Burckhardt worked in various scouting and personnel roles with the Vikings for 13 years. Gray, who has been with the Bills since 2017, was a college scout for the Vikings from 2006-16.
While McKay and Teasley do not carry past Vikings experience, both are important members of two of the NFL’s best front offices. McKay, now in his 10th year with the Rams, has worked with the Super Bowl-winning tandem of GM Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay. He is also familiar with O’Connell, who was the Rams’ offensive coordinator from 2020-21. Teasley has served under Seahawks GM John Schneider, a two-time Super Bowl champion, since 2013.
Chad Alexander, John McKay, Dave Ziegler, Others Receive Vikings GM Interview Requests
2:38pm: It is certainly possible more candidates emerge, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling notes Gray and the five candidates to emerge today represent the full list of external options in the Vikings’ search.
12:59pm: The Vikings’ mid-offseason GM interview search is forming. After Bills assistant GM Terrance Gray received the first known request Wednesday, the Vikes have sent out a host of interview slips.
Minnesota is focusing on the assistant GM level; five more execs with that title join Gray among the NFC North franchise’s list of hopeful meetings. A second-chance candidate — a rarity in the modern NFL — is on Minnesota’s list, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero noting the team sent Titans assistant GM Dave Ziegler a request.
Rams assistant GM John McKay, 49ers AGM R.J. Gillen, Chargers AGM Chad Alexander and Seahawks AGM Nolan Teasley also received interview slips from the Vikings, according to Pelissero, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones and ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Alexander, Gillen and McKay have been part of GM interview processes before; this is a first for Teasley. Gray joins this quintet among candidates, with the Vikes’ current top front office decisionmaker — interim GM Rob Brzezinski — likely to receive an interview as well.
Ziegler teamed with Josh McDaniels with the Raiders, but Mark Davis short-circuited this regime’s plans by firing both less than two years in. Ziegler, who established himself as a GM candidate by working with the Patriots and Broncos, landed as the Titans’ assistant GM in January 2025. Considering Ziegler’s abrupt Las Vegas ouster and the Titans’ 2025 performance, it is a bit surprising the Vikings are interested.
That said, Ziegler did work closely with Bill Belichick and now-Texans GM Nick Caserio in New England, which won three Super Bowls during Ziegler’s time in the front office. This is Ziegler’s first interview request since his Vegas dismissal. After both Tom Telesco and Trent Baalke received pink slips in 2025, the NFL does not have any second-chance GMs in place presently.
Gillen and McKay each interviewed for the Dolphins’ GM post this year. That marked the first such meetings for both NFC West execs. Gillen climbed to the AGM level in San Francisco in 2025, coming up through the scouting ranks to become the team’s player personnel director in 2023. Gillen has been with the 49ers since before John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan’s arrivals, being hired during Trent Baalke‘s GM tenure.
McKay joined the Rams a year before Sean McVay, joining Les Snead‘s front office as a scouting assistant. The McVay-era Rams have certainly represented a launching pad for HC and GM candidates. Ex-Ram staffers Brad Holmes (Lions) and James Gladstone (Jaguars) are currently in GM roles.
Alexander has more interview experience than his California AGM counterparts. The Chargers exec joined Gillen and McKay in the Dolphins’ search and competed with Gladstone for the Jags’ gig last year. The Raiders also brought in Alexander for a meeting in 2025. Alexander has been with the Chargers since shortly after Joe Hortiz‘s 2024 GM hire, coming over from the Jets.
Teasley’s name may be the most interesting here, seeing as the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX. Teasley climbed to the AGM level in 2023 but has been with the Seahawks under John Schneider since 2013. Schneider having won Super Bowls 12 years apart, with two completely different rosters, sets him apart in NFL history. Considering how impressive the Seahawks’ post-Russell Wilson retooling effort has been, it is unsurprising Teasley is on the GM radar. If the Vikings do not end up hiring him, the longtime Seattle staffer figures to be a prime candidate for roles come winter 2027.
The Vikings fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in late January and went through the draft with Brzezinski in place in the interim. The team held off on conducting a search until after the draft. With that point having arrived on the NFL calendar, Minnesota’s next FO boss figures to emerge this month.
Three 49ers Execs Among Dolphins’ Six GM Interview Requests
More than two months after letting Chris Grier go, the Dolphins are at work with GM interview requests. Six have gone out for an AFC East franchise that has not parted with HC Mike McDaniel.
While McDaniel is not a lock to stay, the next Dolphins GM may well begin a tenure working with the long-tenured leader. The Dolphins have sent requests to Tariq Ahmad (49ers), Alec Halaby (Eagles), Jon-Eric Sullivan (Packers), John McKay (Rams) and Josh Williams (49ers), according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport along with ESPN’s Adam Schefter. They have since submitted a request to meet with 49ers assistant GM R.J. Gillen, per Pelissero.
The three 49ers execs would be interesting here, as both were in San Francisco when McDaniel was working under Kyle Shanahan. Ahmed is in place as the 49ers’ VP of player personnel, being in his first year in that role. Ahmed has been with the team since 2014, coming up through the scouting ranks. The former 49ers college scouting director received a request from a Dolphins team eyeing a GM with a scouting background.
Williams has a similar background, serving as the 49ers’ current director of scouting and football operations. He has come up as a name to watch on this year’s carousel, and the Dolphins were connected to him recently. The 49ers have lost a few execs to GM roles, with John Lynch‘s staff seeing Martin Mayhew, Ran Carthon and Adam Peters take top front office jobs. Williams, who was a finalist for last year’s Jaguars GM gig, could be next.
Gillen climbed to the AGM level in San Francisco in 2025, coming up through the scouting ranks to become the team’s player personnel director in 2023. Gillen has been with the 49ers since before Lynch and Shanahan’s arrivals, being hired during Trent Baalke‘s GM tenure. Gillen being included in Miami’s list further points to McDaniel staying.
A 49ers exec being hired certainly could give the embattled HC a new lease on life in Miami, as persistent rumblings have emerged pointing to ownership being fond of the offense-based leader and ready to give him a fifth year. That is not a lock, however.
McKay’s time with the 49ers’ California rival has spanned 10 years now. He arrived a year before Sean McVay, joining Les Snead‘s front office as a scouting assistant. McKay has worked his way up to assistant general manager. This position certainly has been known to launch GM candidacies, with Halaby serving in this role for the Eagles. Halaby does not come from the scouting side, however, being a Harvard graduate who spent five-plus years as the Eagles’ director of football operations and strategy.
Sullivan, who serves as Green Bay’s VP of player personnel, was on last year’s GM carousel and emerged as a possible Dolphins candidate hours after Grier’s dismissal. Sullivan has only worked in Green Bay, being with the Packers since 2003. The former Ted Thompson lieutenant has climbed the ladder under Brian Gutekunst, climbing to his current post through the scouting ranks. Sullivan has been in the VP role since 2022.