Vikings Pivot Away from Inactivity, Make a Splash with New Hire in Front Office
The Vikings pivoted off of the inactivity that was supposed to carry Minnesota through the 2026 NFL Draft. Doing so comes after the decision to fire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah before rallying around long-time executive Rob Brzezinski.
Consider how Minnesota has opted to beef up the front office, per Ian Rapoport: “The #Vikings are hiring Matt Thomas as a football administration consultant, per me and @TomPelissero, and he will assist the team through the 2026 NFL Draft. One of the most respected salary cap executives, Thomas spent 11 seasons as #Seahawks VP of Football Operations. He’ll allow interim GM Rob Brzezinski to focus on the big picture.”
Vikings Pivot from Inactivity, Hire Short-Term Help
Hiring Thomas is akin to signing a bridge starter at QB, someone to help in the immediate as the team looks for someone to fill the job for a long time. Onboarding the stopgap solution for the front office has generated some commentary within the Vikings chatter.
Consider the word from Kevin Seifert of ESPN: “The Vikings have hired longtime NFL executive Matt Thomas as a football administration consultant through the draft. Thomas will work on cap/contracts with senior manager of football admin Emily Badis while EVP Rob Brzezinski focuses on his interim role leading the front office.”
And a follow-up from Seifert, who connects the dots: “Matt Thomas, who retired after the 2024 season, was a front office colleague of Rob Brzezinski when both were with the Miami Dolphins in 1998-99.”
Some thoughts based on the insight provided by Seifert.
Minnesota appears to be relying on an established relationship — the one that exists between Brzezinski and Thomas — to plug-in a veteran executive to help Minnesota navigate what is the busiest time of the year for the front office. Note, as well, that Rick Spielman used to work in Miami, further solidifying the idea that the Dolphins and Vikings have some connections at the executive level.
Worth noting, as well, that Thomas is coming out of retirement. The suggestion could be that Thomas is going to function as short-term help to grind through these unusually busy months. Maybe there could be a long-term job on the other end, but the likeliest scenario appears to be hiring someone for busy season before Thomas then gets to fade back into the luxury of retirement.
The Seattle tidbit is similarly of note. Thomas is a cap guy, but do remember that he has worked from within a franchise that has drafted several excellent players recently.
From 2020 to 2023 (Thomas stepped away in 2024), the Seahawks have drafted linebacker Jordyn Brooks (1st — No. 27 in 2020), offensive tackle Charles Cross (1st — No. 9 in 2022), running back Kenneth Walker III (2nd — No. 41 in 2022), corner Devon Witherspoon (1st — No. 5 in 2023), receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (1st — No. 20 in 2023), and running back Zach Charbonnet (2nd — No. 52 in 2023). Not an exhaustive list by any means, but a large enough sampling to underscore how several of Seattle’s best players are homegrown talents.
In fairness, a lot of these drafted players got picked high, so it’s not like Seattle is snagging All Pro talents out of Day 3 of the draft. Still, there’s something to be said for not missing the layups.
How much further along would the Vikings be if the decision had to been to draft Kyle Hamilton, the All-Pro safety, instead of dropping twenty spots for Lewis Cine? At the time, the decision to snag the Notre Dame safety felt like a layup but the ball clanked off the rim.
One could arrive at a similar conclusion in opting for Dallas Turner instead of Jared Verse, though that’s not as bad of an outcome.
In football, there’s so much competition that nailing the seemingly easy decisions is vital. Just as a quarterback needs to hit his open receiver (ahem, J.J. McCarthy), so does the front office need to avoid overthinking easy decisions. Take the surefire win and move on to the next battle.
Ideally, Matt Thomas will allow Rob Brzezinski do so. The former Seahawk can help on money matters as the fill-in at GM looks to welcome a hearty helping of high-end young fellas. Minnesota will have nine draft selections going into the 2026 NFL Draft.
After April, Minnesota’s ownership group will get going with the search for a new general manager. Rob Brzezinski will be in the mix. Other names to emerge include the Denver Broncos’ George Paton and the LA Rams’ Ray Farmer.
We’ll learn of others generating interest in a few months. In the meantime, Matt Thomas will shoulder some of the load within Minnesota’s front office.
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