Vikings Assistant General Manager George Paton has made the interview rounds for teams with General Manager openings in recent years, but he reportedly won’t be interviewing to fill one of this year’s vacancies.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Vikings have denied a request from the Packers to interview Paton. The Packers announced this week that longtime General Manager Ted Thompson is moving to another role in the organization.
The Packers-Vikings rivalry makes for a compelling reason why the Vikings might have blocked the interview, but Paton has passed on other chances to interview for G.M. openings in the past. He declined interviews with the Dolphins and Jets after the 2014 season and did the same when the Chiefs were looking for John Dorsey’s replacement last June.
Paton joins Doug Whaley as potential outside candidates in Green Bay while Russ Ball, Brian Gutekunst and Eliot Wolf are internal candidates.