It is officially official that Cincinnati Bengals assistant GM Trey Brown will not be the Minnesota Vikings' new general manager.
After flirting with Brown earlier in the offseason, the Vikings decided to hire Nolan Teasley for their vacant GM role, leaving Brown with the Bengals and waiting at least one more season before he can take control of his own team.
If Brown wants to be the person in charge of another organization, the Bengals must have a successful 2026 season. And if one rookie in particular contributes more than we are currently expecting him to, that will also work in Brown's favor.
And when, not if, those things come together, Brown’s next opportunity could come as early as next season, and with a better situation than Minnesota’s.
Trey Brown's fingerprints appear all over Bengals' third-round pick
The last time we saw Trey Brown, he was out in front alongside defensive coordinator Al Golden after the team selected cornerback Tacario Davis in the third round of this year's draft.
We have the impression that Brown, a former UCLA Bruins cornerback himself, had a lot to do with the selection of the former Washington Huskies defender.
If that is the case, while we are not privy to all of the goings on in Cincinnati's draft room, that could either turn out to be an excellent pick or an epic reach. We only hope that it is the former rather than the latter, while also allowing DJ Turner and especially Dax Hill to continue to flourish in their roles as boundary corners.
Missing out on Vikings job may not be a bad thing
While Brown may be disappointed with not getting the gig in Minnesota, he very well may have dodged a catapult-sized projectile.
The Vikings are an organization that is looking for answers, specifically at the quarterback position. One of the reasons they're looking for a new GM is that things haven't worked out swimmingly with their recent first-round QB, JJ McCarthy.
The Vikings will move forward with Kyler Murray as their starting quarterback, despite any scuttlebutt about an open competition.
Brown entering the situation with two quarterbacks, neither of whom he selected, and with no indication that things will pan out well, would not be the best predicament for him. However, if Brown were to land a role in 2027, it would be because the team that he lands with is also not in the most favorable place, having to move on from their current general manager.
Still, for Brown, the hope would be to land in a better position in which he could choose his own signal-caller or already have a well-established one in place.
Potential 2027 landing spots for Trey Brown
There are a few teams that have general managers on the proverbial hot seat entering the 2026 NFL season. And a couple of those teams will likely have Cincinnati's assistant GM on their short list for a call.
The Bengals' oldest rival, the Cleveland Browns, have had Andrew Berry at the helm since 2020. However, they have had very little success and are dealing with the lack of a franchise quarterback of their own after doling out the worst contract in NFL history to quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The Browns would love nothing more than to land an up-and-coming GM candidate from their in-state rival, while selling their team and fan base on hiring someone with experience and intimate knowledge of the division. You know, the classic adage of “we get better and make the arrival worse” talking point.
And after news that Myles Garrett, possibly the best defensive player in the NFL, is going to the Rams in a blockbuster trade, Berry must hope that Cleveland does not come after him the same way Dallas Mavericks fans went after Nico Harrison after trading Luka Doncic.
Yet another general manager who could be entering his last season with his franchise is the Indianapolis Colts' Chris Ballard.
Ballard has been on the job in Indy since 2016. His latest big swing came when he traded first-round picks to the New York Jets for the former Defensive Rookie of the Year and former University of Cincinnati cornerback, Sauce Gardner.
Unfortunately for Ballard, that trade has not gone as well as he had hoped, thus placing him firmly into the new 2026 model with the automatic driver seat heating. With the former beloved Bengals defense coordinator, Lou Anarumo, still on the job in Indianapolis, Brown already has a connection.
Furthermore, if anything were to happen with their head coach, Shane Steichen, who recently upgraded to the same model as Ballard, Brown already has an in-house candidate whom he would be familiar with.
Then, there was always a possibility that the Bengals’ season would not go as planned and Mike Brown would relieve Duke Tobin of his responsibilities.
While that doesn't seem likely, and it feels as if Tobin has the job security of someone who has won multiple championships, it is becoming harder to predict what the Bengals will or will not do in an offseason.
If something were to happen to Tobin, given the front office’s preference for hiring from within, Brown would definitely be one of the first people they would interview.
Every NFL season is like a box of chocolates
With every NFL season comes a myriad of events that no one could have predicted. Some surprises include general manager positions that seem safe but could become available by the end of the season.
For Brown, although he may be disappointed, he plunges back into the pool of candidates for future vacant general manager positions.
Hopefully, Brown will be one of the strongest candidates, signaling that the Bengals are coming off an extremely positive season, with other teams poaching their coaching and front office staff as they look to replicate Cincinnati’s 2026 success.
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