Rob Brzezinski earned two degrees from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: a Bachelor of Science in education and a law degree in 1995. He is also a member of the Florida Bar.

While Brzezinski was in college, he applied for the Miami Dolphins’ staff counsel internship in 1992, when the team was building its practice facility near Nova Southeastern’s campus. The Dolphins hired him, and he eventually helped build out their cap strategy until the Minnesota Vikings hired him in 1999.

It’s funny to think that Brzezinski joined the Vikings the year after they drafted Randy Moss and went 15-1. He has witnessed 41-donut, Bountygate, and Wide Left, and lived to tell the tale. Now, after the Vikings fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday, he will help run their draft.

Brzezinski is kind of like the Vikings’ Once-ler. Early in his tenure, his peers called him “Rob Zombie” because of his monotone voice and stoic demeanor. He rarely makes public appearances; you probably need 15 cents, a nail, and the shell of a great-great-grandfather snail to speak with him.

Still, he has played an important role in the Vikings organization for a long time. Brzezinski has been Minnesota’s cap guru under Rick Spielman and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, navigating the NFL’s byzantine salary cap rules. According to the team’s website, he has been the lead negotiator on more than $1 billion in player contracts, including those for Randy Moss, Jared Allen, and Adrian Peterson.

However, Brzezinski held significant power as part of Minnesota’s “triangle of authority” from 2006 to 2011. As part of the “triangle of authority,” Brzezinski shared decision-making responsibility with Rick Spielman and head coaches Brad Childress and Leslie Frazier.

But the Vikings promoted Spielman to general manager in 2012 and fired Frazier a year later. In 2014, they changed Brzezinski’s title from vice president of football administration to executive vice president of football operations. His primary duty has been to negotiate contracts that will fit within Minnesota’s cap structure.

Brzezinski is back in a triangle of authority again, though. Minnesota’s decision to fire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah but retain Kevin O’Connell creates a unique power structure. Brzezinski will lead the team through the draft. Still, he will likely lean on O’Connell when evaluating offensive players and on Brian Flores when evaluating defensive players.

The Vikings also retained Ryan Grigson, who served as Adofo-Mensah’s assistant general manager. Adofo-Mensah is a former college basketball player and Wall Street trader who had a background in analytics. He likely relied on Grigson for player evaluation during the draft and free agency.

Now, Brzezinski, O’Connell, and Grigson have become Minnesota’s new triangle of authority.

It makes sense in the abstract. Brzezinski is the tenured executive who can negotiate contracts and manage the cap. O’Connell has turned Kirk Cousins into a winning quarterback and revamped Sam Darnold’s career. He’ll know who he needs to put around J.J. McCarthy, and who should back him up. Flores has built one of the league’s best defenses and can help draft defensive players.

Grigson was the Indianapolis Colts’ general manager from 2012 to 2016. The Colts drafted Andrew Luck first-overall in 2012, but Grigson failed to build a championship team around him.

The Colts went 11-5 in Grigson’s first three seasons and reached the Conference Championship in 2014. However, they went 8-8 in Grigson’s final two seasons. Luck retired at age 29 in 2019 due to multiple injuries, partially due to the Colts’ poor offensive line.

Grigson learned lessons from his time as Indianapolis’ general manager, and many executives thrive in a lesser role. Still, the Vikings have probably raised Grigson’s influence on roster decisions by firing Adofo-Mensah.

There’s also the odd dynamic of having O’Connell and Flores on multi-year deals while there is a general manager void. Will the next general manager want O’Connell as his coach and Flores as his defensive coordinator? And, if not, will the players O’Connell and Flores advocate for in the draft fit the new coaching staff’s system?

Minnesota’s original triangle of authority didn’t work, and they ultimately promoted Rick Spielman. After tensions boiled over between Spielman and Mike Zimmer, the Vikings hired Adofo-Mensah.

Spielman had a scouting background; Adofo-Mensah’s first NFL job was in analytics, and he acted more like a CEO. The Wilfs replaced Zimmer, the cantankerous defensive coach, with the sunny, offensive-minded O’Connell. Even with the new front office and coaching staff, tensions mounted again in Eagan, and the Vikings have a “triangle of authority.”

History always repeats itself with the Vikings. Nobody in the building knows that better than Brzezinski. The last time they had a triangle of authority, they drafted Christian Ponder. Hopefully, this year’s version uses Minnesota’s draft capital more wisely.