"The Vikings have promoted George Paton to assistant general manager, taking him out of the running for the Rams' general manager position.

Paton, Minnesota's director of player personnel since 2007, decided late Friday that he wanted to remain with the Vikings, according to an announcement Saturday on Vikings.com.

The Rams job is reportedly going to Falcons director of player personnel Les Snead. Paton interviewed twice with the Rams, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this week that Paton was the favorite for the job.

Newly appointed Vikings general manager Rick Spielman values continuity on his personnel staff, and he has worked closely with Paton for much of the past decade. From 2001-06, Paton was director of pro personnel in Miami, where Spielman was a vice president of business operations/player personnel from 2000-03 and general manager in 2004. The two also worked together in the Bears' pro and scouting departments in the late 1990s.

"George has been an integral part of our personnel department since he arrived in 2007," said Spielman, who was elevated from vice president of player personnel to general manager on Jan. 3. "His work ethic, leadership , professionalism and keen eye for identifying talented football players will continue to be a major asset for our organization as we take on the challenges of competing in the NFC North and winning the Super Bowl." "