The Cincinnati Bengals are living rent-free in the Minnesota Vikings’ minds. It is very unbecoming.
Be that as it may, one thing is for sure: Joe Burrow will not be coming to Minnesota, no matter how much they want to make it something this offseason.
Still, with the reality of Burrow not playing for them staring the Vikings in their mustachioed, bearded faces, they can’t quit the Bengals, as they might have their sights on someone else in the Bengals organization.
Vikings shift focus from Joe Burrow to Cincy GM
The Minnesota Vikings abruptly parted ways with their General Manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, last week after four years.
Now, a name from within the Cincinnati Bengals’ Player Personnel ranks is in the running to take over in Minnesota.
However, he is up against some stiff competition for the job, according to The Athletic.
Trey Brown in the mix for Vikings GM job
Bengals’ Assistant General Manager Trey Brown is on the shortlist to replace Adofo-Mensah as GM with the Vikings, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
Of Trey Brown, Lewis writes:
“Brown spent time in New England when Flores was there. In the early 2010s, Brown worked as an area scout for the organization, and Flores was a budding coach. Contributing to the Patriots’ dynasty would provide familiar evaluation language and likely a desire to covet many of the same skills.
As Flores’ star began to rise, Brown left for a similar role in Philadelphia, then rose to become the Eagles’ director of college scouting from 2016 to 2018. The Cincinnati Bengals hired him as a scout in 2021. His role in Cincinnati has increased, and he has become one of the central voices for Bengals lead executive Mike Brown.”
Brown has been with the Bengals since joining the team as a scout. The front office quickly promoted him to Senior Personnel Executive in 2022.
If Brow were to get the job in Minnesota, the personnel department would surely miss his input. It is an inner circle that is tough to pierce and, apparently, even more difficult to move on from once inside, considering how long Duke Tobin has been in place.
Serious competition for the gig in Minnesota
Brown is up against much quality competition for Minnesota’s GM position, as he is one of 12 on Lewis’s list.
One of the more desirable candidates to keep an eye on is Rams’ Assistant General Manager, John McKay.
Let’s preface this with a “hopefully not.” However, if things go off the rails again next season for the Bengals, especially in the draft, the personnel department could, and should, be allowed to seek employment elsewhere.
If that were to happen, McKay would be an interesting name to keep an eye on for Bengals fans. That is, if he does not land the job with the Vikings.
However, it is not beyond the pale that Bengals ownership could move on from Tobin and walk down the hall for his replacement, opting for an internal hire.
Hopefully, that will not happen, as the braintrust will put together and execute a plan that puts the Bengals in contention for the Super Bowl.
Good to know other voices are in the room where it happens
We don’t know, nor will we ever truly know, how much sway Brown has with the Browns compared to Duke Tobin, Mike Potts, Steve Radicevic, et al.
Nevertheless, Brown clearly has the ear of Mike Brown, as Lewis suggested in his piece.
It is beyond refreshing to know that there is another younger voice in the room, with college and pro experience as a player, who can offer a different perspective beyond arm length and RAS scores.
At least, that is what we hope is happening.
Hopefully, for his sake, Brown will get a chance to run his own team as a GM in the near future. For now, Cincinnati needs him more than the Vikings do, as it is all hands on deck for the 2026 offseason.