Entering his 3rd season with the Vikings, Rick Spielman has put his stamp on the franchise with one of the most aggressive offseasons in team history and the most active in the NFL in 2008. The 2008 Vikings added the reigning NFL sack king when Jared Allen was acquired via trade with Kansas City. The addition of Allen put an exclamation point on an offseason free agency period highlighted by the addition of dynamic WR Bernard Berrian, starting S Madieu Williams and special teams standout Maurice Hicks.Spielman begins his 18th season as an NFL executive with his fourth franchise in 2008. Spielman assumed the Vikings’ Vice President of Player Personnel role on May 30, 2006, and will be responsible for overseeing the Vikings’ pro and college scouting departments. The 2007 Vikings had 7 players earn Pro Bowl honors, the most Vikings in the game since 2000.In his opening season with the club, Spielman and the Vikings enjoyed one of the best drafts in 2007, selecting the NFL’s Rookie of the Year RB Adrian Peterson and got impact performances from the rest of the draft class that featured WR Sidney Rice, who was 2nd among NFL rookies with 4 TDs, CB Marcus McCauley, who started 9 games, DE Brian Robison, who was named to the All- Rookie team and WR Aundrae Allison, who set Vikings records for kickoff returns. The Vikings roster combines a strong mix of established veterans at the top of their games and emerging, talented rookies. The Vikings commitment to keeping talent in-house was continued in 2007 when Pro Bowl DT Pat Williams’ contract was extended prior to the start of the regular season. The team also secured recordsetting P Chris Kluwe with an in-season extension, extended starting RG Anthony Herrera’s contract and benefited from signing free-agent WR Bobby Wade after the initial flurry of 2007 free agency, watching him set career-highs and lead the team in receiving.Spielman has climbed the ranks of NFL personnel departments with Detroit, Chicago and Miami, ascending to General Manager of the Dolphins for the 2004 season. He began his NFL career as a scout with Detroit in 1990 and worked with the club in college scouting for five seasons before adding pro scouting duties in 1995 and ’96. He moved to Director of Pro Personnel for the Bears from 1997-99 before joining the Dolphins in 2000 as Vice President of Player Personnel. He was promoted in 2002 to Senior Vice President-Football Operations/Player Personnel and eventually General Manager in 2004. Spielman left the Dolphins during the 2005 off-season and worked with ESPN as an NFL analyst before joining the Vikings.Spielman’s tenure with all three franchises has been highlighted by drafting impact players throughout the seven rounds and making key trades and free agency acquisitions. Spielman’s teams have won 3 divisional titles and advanced to the playoffs six times.While with Miami for five seasons, the team had a winning record four times, won the AFC East in 2000 and went to the playoffs in 2000 and 2001 but missed the playoffs in 2002 and 2003 despite 9-7 and 10-6 records respectively. The team drafted its top WR, Chris Chambers, in 2001 and traded for RB Ricky Williams in 2002. Williams posted the top two single-season rushing marks in Miami history with 1,853 yards in 2002 and 1,372 in 2003. The Dolphins’ 2005 draft class included 1st-round RB Ronnie Brown, who led the team in rushing with 907 yards and ranked 2nd among all NFL rookies. Joining the impressive rookie group was LB Channing Crowder (3rd round) and CB Travis Daniels (4th round), who both went on to start 14 games in 2005 and finished the season ranked 2nd and 5th on the team in tackles respectively.During his three seasons with Chicago the team amassed some of the talent that has propelled the team to the top of the NFC North and found gems late in the draft. The team selected perennial Pro Bowl C Olin Kreutz in the 3rd round of the 1998 draft and followed with a 3rd-round find in 1999 by taking WR Marty Booker. The team uncovered4th-rounders WR Marcus Robinson (1997) LB Rosevelt Colvin (1999) and LB Warrick Holdman (1999) along with CB Jerry Azumah in the 5th round (1999). The team traded a 7th-round pick in 1999 to arch rival Green Bay for KR Glyn Milburn, who went on to the Pro Bowl that season.Spielman got his first taste of NFL personnel analysis as a college scout with Detroit from 1990-94 and added pro scouting responsibilities for his final two seasons (1995-96) in the Motor City. The Lions enjoyed one of the finest stretches in franchise history in the early 1990s, winning a pair of NFC Central titles in 1991 and 1993 and the team advanced to the playoffs in 1991, ’93, ’94 and ’95. The trio of consecutive post-season berths was a first for the team. The 1991 team set a franchise record with a 12-4 regular season mark, hosted and won a playoff game for the first time since 1957 and advanced to the NFC Championship Game against Washington, losing out on the chance to play in Super Bowl XXVI at the Metrodome. The Lions drafted well during Spielman’s tenure, selecting the core talent for the team and several players who earned regular Pro Bowl accolades. The club drafted WR Herman Moore in the 1st round of the 1991 draft and he went on to four Pro Bowl berths while defensive linemen Robert Porcher and Luther Elliss were 1st-round picks in 1992 and 1995 respectively and each earned multiple trips to Hawaii. The 1995 draft class was especially deep, featuring Elliss, TE David Sloan (2nd round), LB Stephen Boyd (3rd round) and FB Cory Schlesinger (6th round). Elliss, Sloan and Boyd were Pro Bowlers while Schlesinger was a three-time Pro Bowl alternate. The team drafted Lions career scoring leader K Jason Hanson in 1992 (2nd round), who has earned a reputation as one of the top kickers of his era.Following Spielman’s playing career at Southern Illinois from 1983-86 he was invited to training camp with the San Diego Chargers (1987) and Lions (1988). As a collegiate player, Spielman was a 1st-Team All-Gateway Conference honoree as a junior and part of the 1983 NCAA Division IAA national championship team as a redshirt freshman. His younger brother, Chris, was a Pro Bowl LB and a 2ndround pick of the Lions in 1988. He played 11 NFL seasons with Detroit (1988-95) and Buffalo (1996-98).Spielman has a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois and a master’s from Ohio State. He and his wife, Michele, have been active with children’s charities. The couple has adopted six children, Juan, Lewis, Ronnie, J.D., Omie and Whitney.