By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN
Eden Prairie, MN - People have been clammoring for a hire for weeks now, today their wish came true. Today the Minnesota Vikings have announced that they have promoted former Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman as the team's new general manager General Manager.
Spielman joined the Vikings on May 30th, 2006 taking over as Vice President of Player Personnel following the departure of Fran Foley. Prior to his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Spielman worked up through the ranks of the Miami Dolphins starting as the Vice President of Player Personnel in 2000 and ultimately assuming the role of General Manager in 2004.
Spielman entered the league as a scout with the Detroit Lions and also worked as an NFL Analyst with ESPN in 2005.
Spielman's personnel decisions with the Minnesota Vikings have been both loved and loathed over the past five seasons. He was the top ranking decision maker responsible for the drafting of two offensive rookie of the year winners (Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin) and also pulled the trigger on a draft day trade that landed Jared Allen in Minnesota. On the contrary, he was also responsible for the drafting of question marks like Tyrell Johnson, Asher Allen, and Chris Cook.
While Spielman's track record maybe marred by underachieving first round picks, it was evident for the Vikings that it was more important to have a single voice to represent the organization when it comes to decision making and big announcements.
“This establishes the organizational structure that will lead to the long term success of the Vikings,” said Vikings Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf. “Having watched Rick over the years, we have the utmost confidence that he will help us reach our ultimate goal of winning championships.”
“Rick has proven to be a valuable member of the organization since joining the Vikings in 2006,” said Owner/President Mark Wilf. “With Rick’s and Coach Frazier’s leadership, the Vikings are well-positioned to win next season and beyond.”
Rick Spielman will join Leslie Frazier's press conference today at 1pm. Listen live on 100.3FM KFAN or stream on KFAN.com.
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Aj Mansour covers Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions regarding this post in the space provided below. For Vikings updates and breaking Vikings news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjMansourKFAN
*Photo credit - BleacherReport.com
