Vikings' decision to hire Nolan Teasley as GM will only make sense if he's given proper power
Teasley, who spent 13 years in the Seahawks' front office, brings a scouting background to Minnesota. But how much control will he be given -- especially when it comes to the 53-man roster?
Two things can be true about the Vikings reportedly picking Seattle assistant GM Nolan Teasley as their general manager:
It’s a wise decision to go with a guy who has a background in scouting and has risen through the ranks with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
There should be questions about how ownership will distribute power to Teasley, coach Kevin O’Connell and Rob Brzezinski, who had served as interim GM since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s dismissal in late January but is now expected to return to his role as executive vice president of football operations.
Let’s start with the second item.
The key question is who is going to have the ultimate authority over the 53-man roster?
Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf have been guilty of wanting everyone to play nice since they bought the franchise in 2005, but that’s not how the NFL works and the Wilfs should know that by now. This is a business filled with people who have big egos, are often overconfident and can be shortsighted.
I’d guess that when Teasley’s introductory press conference is held in the coming days, the word “collaboration” will be tossed around numerous times, and the focus will be on how O’Connell and Brzezinski will team up with Teasley to make sure that exists.
It’s one thing to say that in early June as everyone smiles for photo opportunities, but it’s another to be naive enough to think that’s really going to happen over the long term. Someone has to have the ultimate power and it needs to be in their contract.
That should be Teasley, but given the amount of power O’Connell seems to have gained it very well could be the Vikings coach. O’Connell played a major role in the interview process for the GM candidates.
It’s not that O’Connell can’t evaluate talent, but a coach is much more likely to be shortsighted with his decisions because of the pressure to win now. A general manager is more likely to take the long view. That doesn’t mean the coaching staff lack input, but it takes away final authority.
If the Wilfs have learned from previous mistakes — this included the 2006 decision to give coach Brad Childress, vice president of player personnel Fran Foley and Brzezinski power in what became known as the Triangle of Authority — then Teasley and the Vikings could be in a position to succeed.
Teasley’s resume is very different from the analytically driven Adofo-Mensah, who had a Wall Street background. It’s not that Teasley is unfamiliar with analytics, but that isn’t considered his only strength. Teasley, a lifelong resident of Washington, joined the Seahawks in 2013 as an intern in the scouting department.
He was a pro personnel scout from 2014-16, spent a season as assistant director of pro personnel in 2017 and then five years as director of pro personnel. He was promoted to assistant general manager in 2023, working under Seahawks GM John Schneider and having a hand in the draft, free agency and crafting trade proposals. (The drafting portion is of the utmost importance considering how poor the Vikings’ four drafts were under Adofo-Mensah.)
Schneider, who worked for Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf in Green Bay in the 1990s, has been the Seahawks’ general manager since 2010 and the franchise has won two Super Bowls in that time. Last season, it was free agent quarterback Sam Darnold who helped Seattle to a championship after one year with the Vikings. In Teasley’s 13 seasons in Seattle, the Seahawks made the playoffs nine times and went to three Super Bowls.