The Seattle Seahawks lost a key member of the front office to the Minnesota Vikings, as the NFC North team named Nolan Teasley its new general manager. The hire could change the fortunes of both teams in the immediate future.

Teasley will be taking over a Vikings team that isn’t far away from contending. One of the key reasons the team fired former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wasn’t that he couldn’t build a collection of talent, but that he didn’t seem to understand how to get the best possible answer at the most important position in sports: Quarterback.

Vikings fans watched as former QB1 in Minnesota, Sam Darnold, signed with the Seahawks last offseason, and then followed that by helping lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. That was Seattle’s second title. Minnesota has never won a Super Bowl.

Minnesota Vikings hire Nolan Teasley from the Seattle Seahawks

Teasley, though, has the experience and, clearly, the ability to create an environment in which a team will thrive. He has been working with general manager John Schneider in Seattle since 2013, and has worked in scouting and been the director of pro personnel. He has most recently served as Schneider’s assistant GM.

Schneider could very well be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day after leading the Seahawks to two Super Bowl wins. Still, with teams with two completely different rosters and coaching staffs (Schneider is the only GM to ever do that), Teasley would have learned at the knee of one of the best to ever perform general manager duties.

Nolan Teasley could also be entering a situation where his new team is already poised to make a deep run in the playoffs. Minnesota finished 9-8 last season despite the fact that its quarterback play was among the worst in the NFL. This offseason, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray.

Murray underwhelmed or was injured throughout his career with the Arizona Cardinals, as Seattle Seahawks fans know well due to their favorite team counting on two wins every season against the NFC West brethren, but under the wise direction of Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, Murray could be coaxed into playing a much better form of football.

As the Minnesota Vikings play in the NFC, and could potentially be a difficult obstacle for the Seahawks to repeat as Super Bowl champions, Teasley is already in a good spot. The issue for Seattle is that Teasley is smart enough to make moves to get Minnesota even better well into the future. A great rivalry between Seattle and the Vikings might be about to start.