The Minnesota Vikings have fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, despite starting to plan for the 2026 with him.
The timing of the move has surprised fans across the league given that Adofo-Mensah attended the Senior Bowl this week on behalf of the team, scouting potential future players in Mobile, Alabama.
The 44-year-old departs after a disappointing 9-8 season for the Vikings, with insult to injury coming with Sam Darnold, their quarterback last season, leading the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl.
According to ESPN, there had been ‘tension’ in the Vikings headquarters that had started to turn ‘ugly’ but there is no further detail on who Adofo-Mensah may have clashed with, or why.
Adofo-Mensah signed a new contract with the team last summer and in his four years at the Vikings, they made the playoffs twice.
The organization said that Vikings’ executive Rob Brzezinski will run the front office up to the NFL Draft at the end of April in Pittsburgh, where the team hold the 18th pick in the first round.
The Minnesota Vikings have suddenly fired their general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Earier this week, Adofo-Mensah was discussing the decision not to sign Sam Darnold
Adofo-Mensah even spoke to reporters on Thursday about the decision to let Darnold leave and focus on rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy.
‘You spend a lot of those nights, obviously, you’re up in these decisions and they’re uncertain,’ Adofo-Mensah said. ‘You’re trying to make sure you don’t lock yourself into what you did and thinking that it’s always right.
‘So there are nights you wake up and stare at the ceiling and ask yourself… I always go back to the process and what we thought at the time. It’s easier to kind of go and be revisionist and result-based,’ he continued.
‘I still understand why we did what we did. The results maybe didn’t play out the way we wanted them to, but ultimately, I think at the end of the day we could have executed in certain places.’
Darnold, meanwhile, led the Seahawks to a 14-3 record, a division title, the No. 1 seed and was at his best in the NFC championship game.
Despite an oblique injury, Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns in Seattle’s 31-27 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He completed 25 of 36 passes and had no turnovers.
Last season, Darnold went to Minnesota and thrived under coach Kevin O’Connell. He had a breakthrough season in 2024, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 TDs while having a 102.5 passer rating and leading the Vikings to 14 wins.
But Minnesota chose to stick with McCarthy, whose 2024 injury initially opened the door for Darnold to play and flourish in Minneapolis.
