The Minnesota Vikings kicked off their search for their next general manager on Sunday, interviewing Tennessee Titans Director of Player Personnel Monti Ossenfort.
Ossenfort is a 2000 graduate of Minnesota Morris, where he was a two year starter at quarterback. He spent 12 years in the New England Patriots organization and ascended to the director of college scouting before heading to Tennessee in May 2020.
The Titans have become a Super Bowl contender with Ossenfort on staff, earning the top seed in the AFC. He interviewed for the New York Giants general manager position last week and should be the first of several candidates to interview for the Vikings opening.
In addition to Ossenfort, the reported candidates are as follows:
- Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
- Eagles VP of Player Personnel Brandon Brown
- Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles
- Patriots Player Personnel Consultant Elliot Wolf
- Browns VP of Player Personnel Glen Cook
- Buccaneers VP of Player Personnel John Spytek
- Eagles VP of Football Operations Catherine Raiche
Adofo-Mensah is an Ivy League graduate that previously spent time as the San Francisco 49ers Football Research and Development Manager (2013-17) and Director (2018-19). He also spent time as a Wall Street trader and would be an out-of-the-box hire.
Brown has spent the past five seasons with the Eagles and was promoted to his current position prior to the 2021 season. He also does crossover work on the scouting side with co-director of player personnel Ian Cunningham.
Raiche also comes from the Eagles organization but will be the first woman in NFL history to interview for a general manager position. She has previously spent time with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts and the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers.
Poles has survived three different regimes in Kansas City but has specialized in building the offensive line. A former offensive lineman at Boston College, Poles led a rebuild adding Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith to the Chiefs’ offensive line this offseason.
Wolf is the son of former Packers GM and Hall of Famer Ron Wolf. He previously spent time in the Packers and Texans front office jobs and interviewed for both general manager positions. But he was passed over twice before heading to New England in March 2020.
Cook has been with the Browns since 2016 and was promoted to his most recent role in 2020. One of GM Andrew Berry’s top talent evaluators, he has a knack for scouting and his broad skill set.
Spytek was promoted to his current role this season and oversees the day-to-day operations of the college and pro scouting departments. He has played a big role in helping the Buccaneers acquire Tom Brady and leading Tampa Bay to a victory in Super Bowl XL.
With the Vikings lining up to interview seven head coaching candidates, Ossenfort’s interview could kick off a busy week in Eagan.
