Broncos executive interviews for Vikings GM vacancy

The Broncos’ success is bound to attract attention, and after they lost a pair of assistant coaches to the Buffalo Bills earlier this offseason, it should come as no surprise that teams should look to their personnel department, as well — especially since one former assistant general manager, Darren Mougey, has already moved on in the last 18 months, taking over the New York Jets as general manager.

Mougey’s successor as assistant GM, Reed Burckhardt, interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings for their GM vacancy. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first to report the Vikings’ interest.

Burckhardt is in his fifth year with the Broncos after spending 13 seasons with the Vikings, including 12 working alongside current Broncos general manager George Paton when he worked under then-Vikings GM Rick Spielman. He followed Paton to Denver, arriving one year after Paton assumed the reins from John Elway in 2021.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Burckhardt is one of 10 candidates for the Vikings’ position. Nine, including Burckhardt, come from outside the Minnesota organization.

BRONCOS ENSURED PATON WOULDN’T BE A VIKINGS OPTION

Earlier this year, Paton’s name circulated among league sources in connection with the Vikings’ vacancy after the team fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in late January. With Paton heading into the final year of his six-year contract, it stood to reason that his name might arise.

But throughout the offseason, Paton maintained that he wanted to stay with the Broncos — and coach Sean Payton reiterated that he hoped to continue working with the similarly-named executive. That came to fruition last week when Paton agreed to a five-year extension, the product of a series of successful drafts that allowed the team to overcome the loss of draft capital that took place in the trades for Russell Wilson and Payton.

Meanwhile, Paton’s staff has earned plaudits inside and outside the building. Burckhardt’s star has been rising.

“He’s real important to our process,” Payton said of him last June. “He’s passionate, and you have to be in that business. It can be lonely. It’s not for everyone. Hotels, laptop computer, film. He has a real good eye for talent. He’s not afraid to give you his opinion even if it’s contrary to maybe what you want to hear.”

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