Vikings agree – The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms with Seattle Seahawks assistant Nolan Teasley to become their general manager, replacing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah after his January firing. Teasley, whose entire 13-year NFL career has been with the Seahawks, rose to assist
MINNEAPOLIS — By Saturday, the Minnesota Vikings had landed on a familiar face in the league’s front offices, one tied to winning from the ground up.
The Vikings agreed to terms on a contract with Seattle Seahawks assistant Nolan Teasley to be their general manager, according to a person with direct knowledge of the decision. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been finalized with Teasley.
Teasley’s NFL story is unusually clean: he has spent his entire 13-year career with Seattle. During that span, the Seahawks made the playoffs nine times, reached three Super Bowls, and won two of them, including the most recent one in February.
In 2023. he was promoted to assistant GM by president of football operations and general manager John Schneider. who was the architect of both of those championship teams. Teasley later took part in the run that followed when the Vikings decided not to re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold last year. Teasley joined the Seahawks after that decision, and helped turn Seattle into champions.
The move also ends a turbulent stretch in Minneapolis. Teasley will replace Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was fired in January after four years in the role.
Adofo-Mensah arrived as an unconventional hire, bringing economics degrees and Wall Street experience into pro football. For the Wilf family, Mark Wilf and Zygi Wilf were initially seeking more than a traditional talent evaluator. They wanted a collaborator—someone who could bridge between the personnel department and the coaching staff. But their external options leaned heavily toward traditional scouting backgrounds.
What happened on the field did not stay separate from that decision. Watching Darnold lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, after he won 14 games in 2024 in his lone season with the Vikings, played a role in the dismissal of Adofo-Mensah.
Teasley’s arrival also came through an interview process that narrowed quickly. He was among five finalists who met in person with Vikings leadership during the second round of interviews this week. Teasley beat current Vikings executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski. Denver Broncos assistant general manager Reed Burckhardt. Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Terrance Gray. and Los Angeles Rams assistant general manager John McKay.
Brzezinski had been serving as interim general manager and directed the draft last month while in that role. He has been with the Vikings since 1999 and rose through the organization. guided by salary cap management and player contract negotiation. Even after the GM decision. Brzezinski will remain in his role alongside Teasley and coach Kevin O’Connell. a trio the Wilfs will entrust to bring the Vikings their first championship.
Teasley stood out among the finalists because he was the only one without ties to the Vikings. Burckhardt and Gray both previously worked as scouts for the Vikings. O’Connell previously worked for the Rams. Gray. McKay and Teasley all took part in the NFL’s accelerator program that was revamped with a rollout at the league meetings earlier this month.
Teasley is a Washington native. He graduated from Central Washington University in 2007 with a degree in public relations, working in marketing before making the jump to the NFL. He joined the Seahawks as an intern in the scouting department in 2013 and became director of pro personnel in 2018.
The last time the Vikings were forced to fill a vacancy after a dismissal created a similar crossroads for their direction. Adofo-Mensah and Ryan Poles were the only two finalists who had in-person interviews for the vacancy in 2022 after the firing of Rick Spielman. Poles was hired by the Chicago Bears instead and remains in that job for the defending NFC North champions.
For the Vikings, this hire closes one chapter and opens another—one centered on getting personnel and coaching aligned, with the expectation that the lessons of Seattle’s postseason runs can translate to Minneapolis.
Minnesota Vikings Nolan Teasley general manager Seattle Seahawks Kwesi Adofo-Mensah John Schneider Sam Darnold Kevin O'Connell Rob Brzezinski
So basically they hired the Seahawks guy again?
I don’t get why they’re going “from the same tree” like that. Vikings need different ideas, not just Seattle’s leftovers. Also I thought Darnold would’ve been kept though.
Wait it says he spent 13 years with the Seahawks and won stuff, but does that mean he’s gonna fix the Vikings defense immediately? Like if he was around the Super Bowls that’s enough, right? Kwesi being fired in January seems way more about cap stuff than “economics degrees” tho.
This is wild because the Vikings always act like they want a “bridge” between scouting and coaches but then fire the guy who maybe could’ve done it. Teasley sounds like a “safe hire” since he never left Seattle, but isn’t that also how you end up stuck? And that part about not re-signing Sam Darnold… feels like they just keep changing the plan every year, so idk how this ends up different.