Pro Football Rumors
With Nolan Teasley in place as the new Vikings general manager, the front office is undergoing some significant changes. Most notably, the organization has parted ways with assistant general manager Demitrius Washington, according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert clarifies that Washington requested and received permission to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
[RELATED: Vikings Hire Nolan Teasley As GM]
Washington made a name for himself as a member of the 49ers front office, where he worked his way up to the role of Manager of Football Research and Development. Coincidently, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah previously held that same role in San Francisco, and the executive brought his successor to Minnesota after being named GM in 2022. Washington spent the past four years with the Vikings, and there’s a chance he lands back with the 49ers, especially after Adofo-Mensah returned to San Francisco following his Minnesota ouster.
The Vikings moved on from a handful of other front office executives, per Lewis: senior personnel executive Jamaal Stephenson, assistant director of college scouting Pat Roberts, and pro scout Salli Clavelle. Stephenson had been in Minnesota since 2002, serving as the director of college scouting before earning a promotion to co-director of player personnel. Roberts also had a lengthy tenure with the organization, where he climbed the ladder to become the assistant director of college scouting in 2022.
Clavelle followed a similar path as Washington, as she was brought over from San Francisco following Adofo-Mensah’s hire. She was previously a college scout with the 49ers before taking on a similar role in Minnesota.
As Lewis points out, Teasley’s approach is significantly different than when Adofo-Mensah took over as GM in 2022. The previous GM wanted to “maintain the structure of the previous staff,” leading to few departures and only a handful of thoughtful additions. The new GM did laud the Vikings’ “strong football evaluation” team during his introductory press conference, so perhaps this is the extent of notable subtractions from the staff.
