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The San Francisco 49ers are undergoing changes in their coaching staff with the departure of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, but there’s also movement going on in their front office.
On Feb. 24, 49ers general manager John Lynch announced that the team is welcoming back former Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as a personnel executive, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic.
Adofo-Mensah returns to the 49ers, where he spent time from 2013 to 2019, first as the Manager of football research & development and then as the Director of football research & development.
Following his stint with the Niners, he joined the Cleveland Browns in 2020 as their vice president of football operations. He would then land the Vikings general manager job in 2022 and would be fired from that position in January 2026.
Vikings Explained Decision to Fire New 49ers Executive
After the firing was announced on Jan. 30, Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf explained the decision to part ways with Adofo-Mensah and move in a different direction.
“We held our end of the season organizational meetings over a couple of weeks and then spent this past week as an ownership group reviewing, discussing, and how best to move forward,” Wilf told reporters at his press conference. “This is a critical offseason. Ultimately, we felt the change was necessary in football operations, and did not feel comfortable going forward into this offseason with the current leadership.
“It’s not about any one decision or move. We looked at the situation cumulatively; we just didn’t feel confident going through the the offseason, an additional draft, and free agency with this structure. We have an urgency to create a winning football team and establish sustainable success for our fans.”
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Made Mistakes With the Vikings
The timing of Minnesota’s decision to fire Adofo-Mensah was surprising, considering he spent the week in Mobile, Alabama, participating in Senior Bowl practices when the Vikings announced they were parting ways with him. The move also came roughly after he recently signed a multiyear contract extension with Minnesota.
Still, letting Sam Darnold leave as a free agent to join the Seattle Seahawks, where he reached and won the Super Bowl, did little to strengthen Adofo-Mensah’s job security. As a result, the team might have felt it was best to part ways with him and go in a different direction rather than letting this process continue.
During his four years leading the Vikings’ front office, the team had three winning seasons and a .632 regular-season win percentage, ranking among the league’s top marks in that period. However, Minnesota went 0-2 in the playoffs, and several draft picks from his tenure have yet to make a major impact.
The organization had planned to develop quarterback J.J. McCarthy while remaining competitive, but that strategy fell short this past season despite a substantial investment in the 2025 roster. As a result, one can argue that Adofo-Mensah’s handling of the Vikings’ QB situation played a major role in his firing and will serve as a learning lesson as he joins the Niners.
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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