Friday, April 26, 2002

ProFootballWeekly.com asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in football. 

Vikings executive Gilliam to retire

Just months after he regained control of the Minnesota Vikings' football operations, 31-year employee Frank Gilliam is retiring amid a reorganization of the team's front office. Rob Brzezinski will become vice president of football operations. The position was held by former head coach Dennis Green until his ouster in January. Scott Studwell was promoted to director of college scouting. Gilliam will retire when his contract expires May 31, but he'll continue working with the team for the next two years as senior consultant for player personnel — primarily as an evaluator of college talent. Shortly after Green departed and Mike Tice was named as his replacement, the Vikings said Gilliam would be in charge of all football decisions and executive vice president Mike Kelly would be in charge of business decisions. While the organizational structure will change, Woods said the rest of the personnel and scouting department would likely stay intact. Tice won't take on any more personnel responsibilities.

Buchsbaum: In Minnesota, after Dennis Green was fired, Frank Gilliam was supposed to emerge as the force in the front office. Gilliam, a longtime executive and scout, was considered one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL. However, instead of taking more power and control than he ever had before as a member of the Vikings’ organization, the 68-year-old Gilliam decided to retire to a consultant role. Gilliam deserves a great deal of credit for the Vikings’ strong drafting history and was a major reason they were able to overcome the disastrous Herschel Walker deal. He has been with the team for 31 years and has always been considered a solid, loyal employee. His leaving is not expected to affect the status of pro personnel director Paul Wiggin. Wiggin is also getting up in years but is very well-respected around the league and still seems very willing to put in the hours needed to do the job.

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