Meet the candidates to be the Kansas City Chiefs next GM
By Matt Conner
Name: George Paton
Current role: Minnesota Vikings, Assistant General Manager
The only reason to bring up George Paton’s name is really about making sure any list of candidates is complete for the sake of reporting, although it’s possible that the Minnesota Vikings Assistant General Manager could reverse course from his initial “not interested” posture and re-enter the search given how early we are in the process.
A couple things are important to note concerning both Paton’s name surfacing early in the Chiefs GM search and his quick dismissal of any such interest or possibility. First, Paton is that good. If the Chiefs absolutely felt they had to fire Dorsey, then grabbing the guy responsible for helping the Vikings land such tremendous draft classes over the last few years is a nice way to go. Paton has a sterling reputation in NFL circles, and drafting him would have replaced a home run with another potential home run and would have silenced many of the current doubters.
Unfortunately, Paton’s immediate “no” brings up another point for those same doubters: that maybe, just maybe, the Chiefs will have to settle for more of a yes man in this process, which limits the available pool of applicants. How many others have also said “no” without the press even knowing? It’s likely there are some more no one will ever know about because both sides would rather just not let the press know. Maybe Paton just loves Minnesota and feels he’s in a good place or maybe he’s received some insight into the situation and knows he can wait for a perfect opportunity. It’s exactly what Chiefs fans saw Chris Ballard do as he declined others until the Indianapolis Colts called with a franchise quarterback already in place.
The latest: For now, Paton is out and will likely stay out of the race.