Minnesota Vikings Current Player Personnel Structure

Three weeks ago, the Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The timing was odd as it was about three weeks later than changes of such significance are typically made. Finding a new general manager in February and getting that general manager up to speed with a new team in time for free agency and the draft is a difficult deal. Rushing any of those important processes can be crippling. Despite the timing of the move, it was still surprising to many that Vikings ownership decided to put off the search for a new general manager to after the 2026 NFL Draft. I wasn’t all that surprised. When ownership named their interim general manager, I wasn’t surprised at all.

Rob Brzezinski has been with the Vikings since 1999. He’s been the team’s salary cap wizard for nearly all of those years. He’s probably the most respected person in the front office. When asked, Mark Wilf said that Brzezinski will be considered for the permanent general manager job. I’d be very surprised if Brzezinski is even interested. He’s been crushing his full-time job for going on 30 years. If being a general manager was ever an interest, he probably would’ve expressed it long before the job was forced upon him. In my opinion, Brzezinski is simply stepping up at a time of great need. He’s doing what he must do for the team. I see Brzezinski’s temporary role at the top of the team’s personnel structure as a unifier, a consensus-builder, an argument moderator. From top to bottom, the Vikings have a bunch of skilled talent evaluators. They are the people that really do all of the grunt work. It’s the general manager that brings it all together. I’ve heard some pundits question why assistant general manager Ryan Grigson wasn’t tapped to lead after the Adofo-Mensah firing. Grigson has general manager experience with the Indianapolis Colts. Since it would’ve kept Brzezinski in his primary role, it did seem to be the easiest transition. For some reason, I’m more comfortable with Brzezinski leading the room than Grigson. I liked Grigson’s scouting background as a balance to Adofo-Mensah’s analytics but, for some reason, I don’t really want him at front of the room. It will be a challenging time but I believe that the Vikings have the people to handle it. 

To further help Brzezinski for a couple of challenging months, the Vikings wisely hired recently-retired, former Seattle Seahawks cap guy Matt Thomas. With Thomas, Emily Badis, and whatever assistance they get from Brzezinski, the contract side of things will be in good shape. 

Every offseason is a challenging. The personnel structure tweaks that preceded this offseason make it even more challenging. Perhaps the timing could’ve been better but a change needed to be made. Better late than never. The Vikings can’t afford another unproductive draft. After a significant change, here’s a look at the Vikings current player personnel structure. 

Minnesota Vikings Current Personnel Structure 

Interim General Manager: Rob Brzezinski 

Senior Vice President of Player Personnel: Ryan Grigson

Vice President of Football Operations: Demetrius Washington

Director of Player Personnel: Ryan Monnens

Assistant Director of Player Personnel: Chisom Opara

Director of Pro Personnel: Sam DeLuca

Senior Personnel Executive: Jamaal Stephenson

Director of College Scouting: Mike Sholiton

Senior College Executive: Pat Roberts

National Scout: Sean Gustus

National Scout: David Williams

College Area Scout (Midwest): Jake Essler

College Scout: Blaine Gramer

College Scout: Matt Kelly

College Scout: Steve Sabo

College Area Scout (Northeast): Michelle Mankoff

College Scout/BLESTO: Jack Murphy

Pro Scout: Salli Clavelle

Pro Scout: Alex Dale

Pro Scout: Shane Normandeau

Senior Player Personnel Analyst: Taylor Brooks

Senior Football Operations Manager: Kaitlin Zarecki

Senior Manager of Football Administration: Emily Badis

Senior Manager of Family Engagement: Quinn Gjersvig

Football Quantitative Methods Senior Analyst: Chris French

Football Quantitative Methods Analyst: Cole Bransford

Director, Football Information Systems: Luke Burson

Database Administrator: Mike Desplenter

Football Information Systems Developer: Anthony Caron

Football Information Systems Developer: Derek McCormick

Football Administration Associate: Austin Lavitt 

Player Personnel Consultant: Paul Wiggin

Scouting Associate: Dabness Atkins

Scouting Associate: Brian Schnorr

Football Operations Associate: Jordyn Hall

Family Engagement Associate: Michela Brown-Mayfield

SQL Database Associate: Grace Liebi

Football Quantitative Methods Associate: Claire Morrison