Bryant McKinnie spent 12 seasons protecting quarterbacks in the NFL. Now he wants a chance to help decide which players make it onto a roster in the first place.
The former Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens tackle told TMZ Sports that he would like to work in an NFL front office after repeatedly questioning personnel decisions from home. “Sometimes I sit there, I’m like, ‘Who was making these decisions?’” he said.
McKinnie is particularly interested in recruiting and the draft rather than returning as a position coach. He even has potential destinations in mind, mentioning the Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins while joking that a return to Minnesota is less attractive because he is not sure he wants to live there again.
The idea would give McKinnie another post-playing role connected to football. The 2002 No. 7 overall pick made the Pro Bowl with Minnesota, won Super Bowl XLVII with Baltimore and now regularly discusses NFL personnel and roster construction as a co-host of Bleav in Vikings.
McKinnie Wants a Say in Who Teams Draft
McKinnie told TMZ that some draft selections leave him wondering what a team saw in the player. “Sometimes I just feel like the picks just aren’t making sense sometimes,” he said. McKinnie wants to participate in the evaluation process himself. TMZ reported that recruiting and drafting are the areas of front-office work that interest him most.
His own path to the NFL began with one of the strongest résumés in the 2002 draft class. Minnesota selected him seventh overall after a University of Miami career in which he never allowed a sack, helped the Hurricanes win the 2001 national championship and claimed the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman.
McKinnie was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023. The National Football Foundation also notes that he finished eighth in the 2001 Heisman Trophy voting and earned unanimous First Team All-America honors that season.
The Chargers and Dolphins Caught His Attention
McKinnie already has opinions about where he might want to work. Asked whether he would approach one of his former teams, he laughed about Minnesota. “Well, I don’t know if I want to live back in Minnesota,” he said.
California sounded more appealing. “I wouldn’t mind the Chargers, you know, somewhere with nice weather,” McKinnie told TMZ before also mentioning the Dolphins.
Miami drew the sharper personnel critique. McKinnie said he believes the Dolphins could benefit from someone with experience and “some wherewithal” who understands what is happening behind the decisions, adding that he sometimes does not understand the team’s picks.
McKinnie has an existing connection to Miami beyond playing college football there. Baltimore traded him to the Dolphins in October 2013, and he finished his NFL career with the team. He did not tell TMZ that he has interviewed with the Dolphins, Chargers or another NFL organization.
He Has Already Built a Second Career Beyond Football
McKinnie has remained connected to the league through Bleav in Vikings, where the network currently lists him as a co-host. The show regularly gives him a platform to discuss Minnesota’s roster and broader NFL personnel decisions.
His work away from football has expanded into several other fields. McKinnie’s official site identifies him as chief operating officer of translation technology company LetzChat, while his other ventures include the BMajor Foundation and BMajor Music Group.
The BMajor Foundation focuses on causes including youth development, mental-health awareness and support for single-parent families. McKinnie has also been involved in real estate and other business ventures since the end of his playing career.