Ryan Pace Joins Vikings as Football Advisor
The Vikings are hiring ryan pace as a football advisor in their front office, adding a former Bears general manager with 25 years of NFL experience across three organizations. He will not be making personnel decisions in the role, but the move gives Minnesota an experienced executive who has run a division rival’s draft and personnel operation.
Ryan Pace and the Vikings
The hiring was reported by Kevin Seifert, and it sends Pace into a support job under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah rather than back into the lead seat he held in Chicago. Pace, 49, is a Texas native who played defensive end at Eastern Illinois before starting his NFL career with the Saints.
His time in New Orleans lasted 14 seasons. He began as an assistant, worked his way up through the professional scouting side, spent six years as the Saints’ director of pro scouting and two years as their director of player personnel.
Chicago Bears Run
Pace then led the Bears’ front office from 2015 to 2021. Chicago won the NFC North in 2018 under Matt Nagy and made the playoffs again in 2020, before the pair was let go after a 6-11 finish in 2021.
That Chicago run is the sharpest reason this hire matters. Pace was responsible for drafting Mitch Trubisky in 2017 and Justin Fields in 2021, and during his seven years with the Bears his notable picks also included Leonard Floyd, Cody Whitehair, Eddie Jackson, Roquan Smith, David Montgomery, Jaylon Johnson and Darnell Mooney.
Falcons Exit
After leaving Chicago, Pace spent four years with the Falcons in various roles and most recently served as vice president of football operations and player personnel. He also held the titles of senior personnel executive and director of player personnel before Atlanta let him go in February.
For Minnesota, the practical takeaway is simple: the front office gets a veteran evaluator with experience in scouting and player personnel, but not a decision-maker. Pace arrives with a background that spans the Saints, Bears and Falcons, and this role places him behind the table rather than at the head of it.
