Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
It has just been days since the Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. There are a multitude of reasons for the change, but it may not have been a good fit from the start.
Adofo-Mensah rose to prominence working behind the scenes on predictive models and spreadsheets. It was that formula that helped him find success on Wall Street.
Ultimately though, he never showed the football acumen needed to be successful in several different scenarios. It’s not like his counterparts took him seriously either.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah needed help to complete Thielen MN Vikings trade
Despite the MN Vikings knowing that Jordan Addison was going to be suspended, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah put the coaching staff in a tough spot. It took a Jalen Nailor injury to really put the wheels for an Adam Thielen trade in motion. Ultimately, Kwesi needed Rob Brzezinski to step in and get it done anyways.
In Carolina Panthers camp, it was evident that Thielen was on his last legs. While Thielen had helped quarterback Bryce Young through some tough times in 2024, there did not appear to be much room on the depth chart for a past-his-prime receiver anymore.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was fired on Friday by the team, called Carolina and gave them his price for Thielen. The Panthers asked for more. Adofo-Mensah held out. The cutdown deadline passed with Thielen still on Carolina’s roster (they cut Hunter Renfrow instead). Adofo-Mensah kept calling.
Carolina’s front office held strong. Why give up Thielen for almost nothing? He caught 48 passes in 2024 and might serve as depth if their young guys weren’t ready or got injured.
As the season opener grew nearer and starting QB JJ McCarthy was getting ready for his first career start, the Vikings got desperate. Coaches needed another receiver because the front office hadn’t provided them with enough depth despite being aware of Addison’s suspension. Multiple sources told Purple Insider that executive vice president Rob Brzezinski called Carolina GM Dan Morgan to get the deal over the finish line because they felt Adofo-Mensah hadn’t been aggressive enough.
Matthew Coller – Purple Insider
As Matthew Coller (Purple Insider) so eloquently outlined in his breakdown of what went wrong, the Thielen trade is just another jarring example. Obviously the trade didn’t turn out, mostly due to poor QB play, but the fact that the Minnesota Vikings clearly had a roster issue, and the general manager wasn’t capable of solving it, is certainly a problem.
GMs don’t grow on trees and the Minnesota Vikings missed
When moving on from Rick Spielman, the Minnesota Vikings opted for a very different voice. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was not a football lifer, and it doesn’t seem that he ever earned the respect necessary to stay in the role either.
While his taking two weeks off for paternity leave is not traditional in the NFL, it’s reflective of a lacking self awareness. Had he succeeded and established a level of credibility, non-traditional ways in which he operated could have been overlooked.
Woah! 🤯
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was almost fired after the 2023 season for major “communication gap” issues.
So much so, other team executives were preparing applications and resumes for their agents to present to Minnesota that offseason.
“This is one thing that I know, is there… pic.twitter.com/7ZQ7K1gyvs
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) January 31, 2026
Communication issues, and the ability to connect with those he worked around, was a big issue well beyond just missing on draft picks. Adofo-Mensah is smart enough to stay working in the league if he so chooses, but a behind the scenes role is where it sounds like he would be best suited.
Now, the Minnesota Vikings will lean on Rob Brzezinski and Kevin O’Connell to clean up the mess and turn things around rather quickly.
Mentioned in this article: Adam Thielen Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Rob Brzezinski
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