Nolan Teasley’s introductory Minnesota Vikings press conference leaves one question unanswered
We know that Nolan Teasley will have roster control, but there is still one question that hasn’t been answered.
The Minnesota Vikings introduced new general manager Nolan Teasley to the media on Wednesday morning. It was the first time that Teasley spoke to the media, and we got a lot of interesting context about how things will move forward.
The most important aspect came from owner Mark Wilf, confirming that Teasley would have 53-man roster control.
“Nolan is the gentleman as the organization. He has final say on the roster of the 53 but in the end he’s going to lean heavily, and he’ll say it himself on our head coach, obviously, and people like Rob Brzezinski in the building that have deep experience and skill sets that are complementary, so I think we have it all put together in a great way, and I’m confident that this is a great move for the organization, a great move for the Minnesota Vikings.”
Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf
Mark Wilf creates a fascinating question with organizational structure
The question about the organizational structure with the hiring of Teasley came about, and it both cleared things up and raised more questions.
“Nolan, the general manager reports to ownership, as well as the head coach [Kevin O’Connell], Rob is part of the football operations of football organization that’s under Nolan, so again, in the end, that’s the structure, that’s the way it is. If it comes to structure, we’ve got a problem. Okay, the end result is making sure leaders collaborate, work together, and kudos to Rob and the effort he led this past few months, getting our draft process and collaboration working well in the building. Right now we have Nolan, and I think that’s that’s that’s an incredible piece to our puzzle. Like I said, Nolan’s leading our football operations at GM reports ownership, and obviously Coach O’Connell reports to ownership as well.”
Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf
We know there is going to be a modernized version of the “Triangle of Authority” where Teasley will have full roster control, but it’s a trio of talented minds. Where the question comes into play is simple: does Teasley have the authority to fire head coach Kevin O’Connell?
Usually, the general manager has the authority to fire the head coach. It’s a pretty normal thing for the head coach to report to the general manager, as they usually make the decision to hire them. With Teasley coming into the organization with an established head coach in O’Connell, it presents significant challenges if things don’t go well. Will Teasley be able to make a change and bring in his head coach if and when that time comes?
It may never become an issue, and hopefully it won’t. However, one of them inevitably will end up being fired, if not both.