The Minnesota Vikings have completely shaken things up to begin the 2026 NFL offseason. After a fairly quiet start to the proceedings, the Vikings surprisingly decided to fire general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last week, as the team opted to begin suddenly revamping their front office.
Simply put, Minnesota’s search for a new general manager is going to be a little bit complex. That’s because the front office will be led by executive vice president of football operations, Rob Brzezinski, through the 2026 NFL Draft. As a result, a new general manager won’t be hired for at least three months, but that doesn’t mean the team is standing pat, as it sounds like a top target for this job has already emerged.
Vikings Reportedly Eyeing Broncos’ GM George Paton
Despite signing Adofo-Mensah to a new contract just last offseason, the Vikings have decided to make a drastic switch atop their front office. While Minnesota has a strong roster, its poor management at the quarterback decision last offseason was a black mark Adofo-Mensah could not overcome. Instead of re-signing Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones, the team handed unproven former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy the starting job.
The results were ugly, and while McCarthy showed promise along the way, it’s clear that the Vikings’ top brass was not happy with some of Adofo-Mensah’s decisions during his time in charge of the team. Typically, the team would just begin looking for a new general manager, but Minnesota is pushing this decision off for a couple of months.
With Brzezinski in charge of the front office through at least the 2026 draft, there’s a decent chance that Minnesota won’t hire Adofo-Mensah’s replacement for quite some time. In fact, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN, some folks believe that the Vikings may wait until after the 2026 season and attempt to lure Denver Broncos‘ general manager George Paton, whose contract is up after the upcoming campaign, back to the Vikings.
“It’s striking how many league sources think that the Wilfs will pursue Denver Broncos general manager George Paton, who is under contract through the 2026 season, to change teams,” Seifert wrote. “Paton is a close friend and confidant of (former Vikings’ general manager Rick) Spielman, and worked as his top assistant not only with the Vikings from 2007 to 2020 but also with the Miami Dolphins for five years and the Chicago Bears for three.”
Should the Vikings Pursue George Paton?
GettyGeorge Paton, general manager of the Denver Broncos
As noted, Paton previously spent over a decade working for the Vikings, and with his contract situation coming under the spotlight, that could set the stage for him to return to his former team. Of course, that raises the question of what the team will do between now and Paton’s contract expiring. Would they hire a lame-duck general manager to fill in for a year, or would they simply have Brzezinski remain in charge of things for a year before giving way to Paton?
It’s certainly a unique situation, and it’s one that does not appear set to have a resolution anytime soon. Paton certainly is a logical candidate, and Minnesota’s prolonged timeline certainly makes it a possibility, but is the team really willing to wait nearly a year to bring him to town? Time will tell, but for now, the front office’s main objective seems to involve getting ready for the upcoming draft.
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