Denver Broncos hire Kelly Kleine to be Executive Director of Football Operations

For much of her time in the Minnesota Vikings’ front office, Kelly Kleine has been considered a rising star in the ranks of personnel people around the National Football League. On Monday, another team pushed that star higher than any woman that is currently employed by an NFL front office.

Our friends at Mile High Report are reporting that the Denver Broncos have hired Kleine to be their Executive Director of Football Operations and a Special Advisor to new General Manager George Paton.

Kleine has been with the Vikings for 10 seasons, starting as an intern in the Public Relations Department back in 2012. She served as a scouting administration intern in 2013 and a scouting assistant in 2014 before being promoted to the team’s college scouting coordinator, a role she held for four seasons. She had spent the past two seasons as Manager of Player Personnel/College Scout, a job that involved scouting players around the Midwest region, organizing pre-draft visits, and training scouting interns, among other things.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the move makes Kleine the highest-ranking scouting executive with any team in the history of the league. Paton, who worked with the Vikings for a very long time as Rick Spielman’s right-hand man before finally taking a GM job of his own appears to have gotten himself a key member of the Vikings’ front office.

Congratulations to Kelly Kleine on her new job in Denver, and here’s hoping that the Vikings have a solid plan to replace her.