Eagles Exec Auditions for Vikings GM Job Today
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings embracement of change continues today, one day after interviewing Monti Ossenfort from the Tennessee Titans for the vacant general manager job and Nathaniel Hackett from the Green Bay Packers for the head coaching gig.
Today, though, the itinerary is a little more exciting. Minnesota makes history as the first NFL franchise to interview a woman for a head general management role. About 40 years ago, a woman named Susan Tose Spencer was the general manager for the Philadelphia Eagles – the same place that employs this current Vikings candidate – but she was the daughter of the then-owner, and it is unlikely that she interviewed with her father.
The woman chatting with the Vikings today is Catherine Raiche, a 32-year-old Candian lawyer with a Master’s degree in tax, who also happens to be the Vice President of Football Operations for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Raiche’s meteoric and groundbreaking rise to power began in the CFL from a gridiron standpoint. She held administrative roles with the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts before graduating to the NFL as Operations Coordinator with the Eagles in 2019. Last May, Raiche assumed her current title of Vice President of Football Operations. And now she discusses the opportunity of top boss lady with the Vikings today.
For now, seven other men are interviewing for Minnesota’s top job — Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Brandon Brown, Glenn Cook, Monti Ossenfort, Ryan Poles, John Spytek, and Elliot Wolf.
In 2020, Raiche’s Eagles infamously drafted Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson in the 1st Round of the draft, a stain on the Eagles front office as Jefferson blossomed into a Top 3 wide receiver in the league, while Reagor has never had more than 60 receiving yards in a game. Some folks – true or not – seek to associate the draft pick with Raiche personally, although she was not the person with the trigger finger for Philadelphia on draft night. Still, some skeptics attribute guilty by association with Raiche because the mistake was egregious.
Regardless of Reagor or Jefferson, the potential hire of Raiche would be a game-changer for the NFL, professional sports, women’s rights, and society. The mere fact Raiche is chatting with an NFL team about the lead job in a front office is baby steps in a just direction. An interesting tendency in the NFL is name recognition in these situations. Even if the Vikings do not hire Raiche, opting for a candidate more aligned with ownership’s vision – “being in the mix” affords her credibility moving forward. When a general management gig opens up in 2023, Raiche will be remembered as a top candidate the year before (if she is not hired during this cycle). That’s how it works.
Unfortunately for Raiche, her team was eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday after a flogging by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She now has time to concentrate on the Eagles offseason – or rejuvenate the Minnesota Vikings as general manager.
And she’ll put her best foot forward for the latter arrangement today via interview.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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