On Fri, Jan 30, the Minnesota Vikings announced that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired as the general manager of the team after four seasons of service in that position. Adofo-Mensah’s time as GM began right when Kevin O’Connell’s time as head coach did in the 2022 offseason and both were given contract extensions in the 2025 offseason. After an over-investment into the roster via free agency and not enough good productive draft picks(only 13 players from the past four draft classes remain on the active roster, with Jalen Nailor being a likely free agent this upcoming offseason), Adofo-Mensah was released. The Vikings have a 43-27 record, including the playoffs, over the past four years, but in a overly competitive NFC North and a successful first season from Ben Johnson as head coach of the Chicago Bears, the pressure was on Minnesota to make some moves. Firing offensive-line coach Chris Kuper and letting go of assistant defensive coach Mike Pettine along with seeing Daronte Jones hired as the new defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, there will definitely be some shifting along on the coaching staff. But now, the front office is without a general manager and will likely remain that way through the 2026 NFL draft. Executive assistant Rob Brzezinski will run the Vikings front office through the draft, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

In spite of signing a multi-year contract in the offseason, Adofo-Mensah had to watch as the roster for the 2025 Vikings had holes in it and the players signed to fill them were less than adequate. The offensive line and defensive line were not as good as advertised and the secondary had its own issues. Ryan Kelly had concussion injuries plague him and he might not return for the second year of his two-year contract. Will Fries was given the largest free agent deal by an offensive guard and had a low pass block and run block win rate. On the defensive side, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave were not as efficient as younger options on the defensive line(specifically Jalen Redmond, who had a career year in his second NFL season). Some questionable trades made by the front office before the season included dealing Mekhi Blackmon to the Indianapolis Colts for a later-round draft pick, dealing a later-round draft pick to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2025 draft in exchange for Sam Howell(who did not make the final cut of the preseason roster) and trading Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets to clear up roster space for the defensive line. During the season, there were no offers made by Adofo-Mensah for some players that could improve the roster in different areas with the team at a mediocre record of 4-4 right when the trade deadline passed. The Vikings went on to lose four straight games and even though they had five consecutive victories to close out the season, the consequences of Kwesi’s decisions had come home to roost, especially with a lot of former Vikings players released during his tenure on playoff teams.

There were around ten former Minnesota players on playoff rosters, most notably Sam Darnold on the Seattle Seahawks, whom he led to a 14-3 record and an NFC Championship trophy. The Seahawks will play against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif on Sun, Feb 8. New England has three former Vikings(this does not include Stefon Diggs) that were released by the front office during Adofo-Mensah’s tenure, while the Houston Texans have a pair in offensive guard Ed Ingram and defensive end Danielle Hunter. Other good former Vikings on teams that either made it to the playoffs or fell short that were released in the past few years include Nahson Wright(Chicago), Cam Bynum(Indianapolis), DJ Wonnum(Carolina Panthers), Troy Dye(Los Angeles Chargers) and Dalton Risner(Cincinnati Bengals). But the Darnold comparisons are the ones that hurt the most for the Vikings, who decided to bank everything around J.J McCarthy in his redshirt rookie season and they got inconsistent QB play from McCarthy(who missed seven games and was taken out of two other games with injuries) and his backups Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer(who both looked better than McCarthy did at times). So, getting the QB room right should be a top priority of the Brzezinski-led front office.

There have been rumors out there that the Vikings are top candidates to potentially trade for Bengals star QB Joe Burrow, who has a massive contract that would transfer over to any team he theoretically gets traded to. Whether the firing of Adofo-Mensah increases or decreases the odds of a Burrow trade for Minnesota is currently unknown. But one thing is for certain: the Vikings will reset themselves with a new general manager following the draft and whoever they hire to replace Adofo-Mensah will have some pressure to steer the ship of a team that failed to live up to expectations by a fan base desperate to see the team make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in a half-century. Adofo-Mensah might be gone, but O’Connell is still the head coach and the expectations are high for him to lead next year’s team into the playoffs and on a deep playoff run at least. If a playoff game isn’t won next season by O’Connell(Mike Zimmer won a playoff game by his fourth season in charge, as have other successful Vikings coaches of the past like Bud Grant and Jerry Burns), he could be fired and a potential promotion of defensive coordinator Brian Flores to head coach might happen. But for now, a front office reshuffle is in order and a new GM will not be hired until May at the earliest.