The Minnesota Vikings found a way to keep director of player
personnel George Paton around after all.
Paton, who had interviewed for the St. Louis Rams' open general manager
position and was reportedly one of two finalists, will be staying with
Minnesota after the Vikings promoted him to assistant GM. Paton has been one of
general manager Rick Spielman's most trusted advisors dating back to when the
pair worked together in Miami.
Spielman, who was named Minnesota's GM two days after last season ended, joined
the Vikings in 2006 and Paton followed a year later. Now Spielman gets to keep
one of the key members of his staff.
"George has been an integral part of our personnel department since he
arrived in 2007," Spielman told the team's website. "His work ethic,
leadership, professionalism and keen eye for identifying talented football
players will continue to be a major asset for our organization as we take on
the challenges of competing in the NFC North and winning the Super Bowl."
Paton had been in talks with St. Louis over the past two weeks as the Rams
conducted a wide-ranging search for a new general manager. After a 2-14 season,
St. Louis fired GM Billy Devaney and coach Steve Spagnuolo. Jeff Fisher was
hired to replace Spagnuolo.
The Rams hold the No. 2 pick in April's draft, one spot ahead of 3-13
Minnesota.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Paton was one of
two finalists for St. Louis' GM position along with Atlanta Falcons director of
player personnel Les Snead. The Post-Dispatch reported that Paton was the
front-runner for the job and that Snead accepted the position Saturday
after Paton decided to remain with the Vikings.
Follow Brian
Hall on Twitter.
