For the third consecutive time, Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager George Paton has declined to interview to be the GM of the New York Jets.
A few days ago, it was revealed that the New York Jets were once again going to pursue George Paton of the Minnesota Vikings when searching out their vacant general manager position. Speculation about whether or not he would be interested in the job was on the mind of fans.
Sure, Paton had declined to interview for the position two previous times but that doesn’t mean the third time wouldn’t be a charm for “Gang Green” in New York. However, instead of hitting a home run with a full count, the Jets reportedly struck out.
Here is the report of Paton declining an interview with the Jets from the Twitter account of The Atlantic’s Connor Hughes:
#Vikings assistant GM George Paton turned down the #Jets request to interview him, sources tell me and @ChadGraff.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) May 30, 2019
He did the same the two other times the Jets asked to chat.
On one hand, it’s a great thing for the Vikings that Paton will be sticking around. He and Rick Spielman have a great working relationship which has grown over the years, with the two having many successes in the NFL Draft and free agency which loaded the franchise with talent.
Conversely, it’s hard not to feel a little bad for the Jets. Minnesota has been a source of nothing but pain for that franchise, especially after what happened with Jeff Badet, Anthony Barr spurning the team, and Kirk Cousins leading them on in recent history as well as the fact that the franchise hasn’t beaten the Vikings since 2010.
At this point in the season preparations, finding a general manager is going to be something which could be incredibly difficult for the New York Jets. At this point, every qualified and highly regarded candidate has likely either been hired or is preparing for the upcoming season with their current team. For the Minnesota Vikings, that means Rick Spielman and George Paton are lucky to have each other.