EAGAN, Minn. -- On multiple occasions this offseason, Vikings owner Mark Wilf has referred to the team's ongoing general manager transition as an "ownership-driven" process. What once sounded like standard corporate talk, however, now accurately reflects what's happening -- and it's a notable shift for a group that has routinely relied on team advisers when making big decisions.
Wilf and his brother Zygi shocked most everyone at TCO Performance Center when they fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah during the final week of January. Sources said that the Wilfs' standard end-of-season meetings had given no indication that the general manager's job was in danger.
And now, four years after a large internal committee steered the process that led them to hiring Adofo-Mensah in the first place, the Wilfs are keeping a close circle in the search for his replacement.
Chief operating officer Andrew Miller worked with the search firm TurnkeyZRG to develop a list of external candidates, but the only other known participant is coach Kevin O'Connell, himself a product of the same 2022 hiring committee. And speaking last week at rookie minicamp, O'Connell made clear that he is available to help but is not running the show.
"In whatever capacity that ownership and Andrew have for me as their plan, that's what I'm going to do," O'Connell said. "Obviously, it's an important time. It's clearly an important hire, but I have so much respect in the process-oriented driven aspect of not only our ownership, but Andrew Miller, that I know we're going to get to that good outcome."
O'Connell and Miller have joined the Wilfs, and some of their adult children, in initial virtual interviews this week. It's possible that there will be some meetings around next week's NFL spring meeting, where the league is hosting its revamped accelerator program aimed at connecting coaching and general manager candidates with ownership. If the process continues smoothly, a second round of formal interviews would take place in person during the final week of May.
Historically, executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski has been a key adviser in major hirings. This time around, Brzezinski is a candidate himself. Mark Wilf has used neutral phrases in discussing Brzezinski's candidacy for the job, and what seems evident to sources inside and outside the building is that the Wilfs have a clear idea of what they're looking for.
Speaking in March at the league meetings, Wilf laid out a vision for what he and his brother are seeking in the job.
"We certainly want someone who is a great leader, someone who can lead," Wilf said. "We feel we have a great scouting staff. Great coaching staff. Of course, never resting on any laurels [and] we want to continue to strive to be the best. We want to be competitive every single year and have long-term success.
"So someone's got to fit within that. It's got to fit within what we have in our building right now as well. So it's a host of factors. Hopefully we'll know it when we see it, but we're certainly going to, as part of the laying out of the process, try to develop some qualities we can build around."
On a personal level, Brzezinski matches those qualities. But so do the résumés of all nine of the external candidates, three of whom were added this week to the original six: Chad Alexander (Chargers), RJ Gillen (49ers), Terrance Gray (Bills), John McKay (Rams), Nolan Teasely (Seahawks), Dave Ziegler (Titans), and recent additions Ray Agnew (Lions), Reed Burckhardt (Broncos) and Kyle Smith (Dolphins).
Each is a current assistant general manager who rose through the NFL scouting ranks. Only one, Ziegler, has previously served as a general manager. (Ziegler was the Las Vegas Raiders' general manager for 21 months in 2022 and 2023.)
The 9 external Vikings GM candidates (+ Rob Brzezinski):
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) May 12, 2026
Lions assistant GM Ray Agnew
Chargers AGM Chad Alexander
Broncos AGM Reed Burckhardt
49ers AGM RJ Gillen
Bills AGM Terrance Gray
Rams AGM John McKay
Dolphins AGM Kyle Smith
Seahawks AGM Nolan Teasely
Titans AGM Dave Ziegler
The presence of Brzezinski, amid a group of relatively inexperienced personnel executives, has prompted numerous NFL sources to wonder if the Wilfs plan to create the kind of front office that now exists in Jacksonville and Atlanta. For those franchises, a president of football operations -- Tony Boselli for the Jaguars and Matt Ryan for the Falcons -- heads a leadership team that also includes the general manager and coach.
Mark Wilf, however, all but eliminated that possibility when asked specifically about it in March.
"I think we like the way we've done it as far as the structure, and the GM will report to ownership," he said. "It has to be strongly collaborative with the coach and with our football operations team. So I think we're going to stick to the way we've done it. It's just a matter of getting the right person who's a leader of the organization who can communicate and deliver."
It is always possible that the Wilfs will reconsider that approach, but everything known about their search indicates they envision a first-time general manager pairing with an existing staff. Even if they ultimately choose Brzezinski -- the only known candidate without a classic scouting background -- the structure would preserve much of the current scouting department. It also wouldn't infringe on the power O'Connell and his staff accumulated during Adofo-Mensah's tenure and while Brzezinski served as interim general manager.
Asked in February if he hoped the process would leave him with more decision-making authority than he had before, O'Connell said: "I want ultimately what's best for the organization under the direction of our ownership."
Some NFL sources believe that is a likely outcome from a practical sense, even if it is not documented in contract language. After what was clearly a coach-centric approach to the draft last month, could the next general manager recoup that influence? The Wilfs don't often speak publicly, but their words -- and, importantly, their actions -- have not made a secret of their plans.