Catherine Raiche makes NFL history, interviews for Vikings GM position

The Vikings announced Monday afternoon they had completed interviews with Buccaneers Vice President of Player Personnel John Spytek and Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for their open general manager position. On Monday night, they announced they had completed an interview with Eagles VP of Football Operations Catherine Raiche.

Raiche was believed to be the first woman ever to interview for a NFL GM job, after spending the past three seasons with the Eagles and four years before that with CFL and XFL teams. She is among the highest-ranking women in football operations in the NFL.

Spytek, a Pewaukee, Wis., native, has been with the Buccaneers the past six seasons and in the NFL for 18 years overall. He has worked as GM Jason Licht's right-hand man as Tampa Bay built a Super Bowl championship team around quarterback Tom Brady.

Adofo-Mensah, a Princeton graduate with a master's degree in economics from Stanford, came to the NFL after working as a trader and portfolio manager on Wall Street, bringing his analytics background to the Browns as they reoriented their front office to emphasize a data-driven approach.

By the end of the day, the Vikings were to have completed initial interviews with half of their eight external candidates for general manager — Spytek, Raiche, Adofo-Mensah and Monti Ossenfort, the Titans player personnel director who conducted a virtual interview with the team's search committee on Sunday.

The team had also requested to speak with Ryan Poles, Chiefs executive director of player personnel; Brandon Brown, Eagles player personnel director; Eliot Wolf, Patriots personnel consultant; and Glenn Cook, Browns VP of player personnel. Those interviews could happen later this week.

After firing Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer on Jan. 10, the Vikings' search for a new general manager and coach figures to pick up speed this week, especially with teams such as the Eagles, Patriots and Cowboys out of the playoffs. The Vikings held a virtual interview with Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett for coach on Sunday and has requested to speak to at least six other external candidates for the job, though the Vikings' plan has been to hire a GM first and let that person help decide on the next coach.

The Vikings continue their search with four people — Chief Operating Officer Andrew Miller, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski and co-Directors of Player Personnel Jamaal Stephenson and Ryan Monnens — joining ownership to lead the process. It's possible Brzezinski and Monnens could be considered for the GM job, as well. Stephenson, who lives in Maryland, is believed to want to stay in his current role rather than moving to the Twin Cities.