By Graham Fritz 

Writer/Reporter 

As the dust settles on the hiring of the new Vikings General Manager, Nolan Teasley, the new GM quietly put together an impressive front office around him. The Vikings announced the hiring of not only one assistant general manager, but two, Andrew Healy and Trent Kirchner. Both of whom are known and respected around the league; they both individually climbed the ranks and earned their stripes.  

Teasley went on an unorthodox route by hiring two assistant GMs. That’s because two heads are better than one, right? No. It’s not so much a numbers game but a matter of balancing out their new comprehensive team-building identity, which will be foundational to their new approach as they construct the team’s future, led by Kevin O’Connell’s coaching. 

New assist GM, Andrew Healy, is coming from the Clevland Browns, where he spent the last 10 years. Healy has quite an impressive background, to say the least. He brings the ability to scout like a traditional scout but with high-end statistical expertise. It is mentioned in Alec Lewis’s article in the Athletic, that he’s able to piece together players’ abilities and deficiencies by looking at their stats. Healy graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and earned a Ph.D. in economics from MIT. In the 2010’s he wrote for a blog where he earned himself recognition from the Brown’s, enough to hire him to their staff. It’s no wonder he got this far in his career. He brings a new-age analytical perspective into the Viking’s scouting ranks along with a core belief in the methods of traditional scouting. Healy is a fascinating hire; it cannot be disputed. 

Trent Kirchner comes from the Seattle Seahawks; he spent 27 years in the league. He started as intern with Seahawks; another started from the bottom background kind of guy. He spent years accruing expertise as a college scout and pro scout, where he went on to serve in several key roles with the Seahawks: pro personnel director, co-director of player personnel, and VP of player personnel. He brings a valuable traditional scouting background, which will be used undoubtedly to balance out the analytical process they will use in this new regime. 

For the first time, in a long time, I am genuinely excited for what’s going to come out of the Vikings front office. This new staff has the capacity to piece together a promising roster and have us compete; I truly believe that. Teasley put his money where his mouth is when he said in his opening press conference that they will be “guided by evaluation” and “anchored by data.” It’s been refreshing as a fan to see the Vikings’ ownership do such a thorough search for a GM. I’m impressed that they ultimately landed on an outside candidate, proving they want the best front office possible. Teasley is already making his mark in his first weeks as the new Vikings General Manager. The future is bright in Minnesota, or it’s at least the future in better hands.