Vikings Hire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah As GM
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Minnesota Vikings officially have their next general manager.
The team announced Wednesday evening they've hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, the Cleveland Browns' vice president of football operations.
He inked a four-year contract for $12 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Vikings hired Browns' VP of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 26, 2022
Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf said in a statement the team believes Adofo-Mensah "will immediately make us better as a team and organization."
Adofo-Mensah joined the 49ers in 2013 after studying economics and working as a portfolio manager and commodities trader. The Browns hired him in 2020 as VP of football ops.
"My whole life, and not just my professional life, my whole life I've been really passionate about decision-making under uncertainty," Adofo-Mensah said when the Browns hired him.
Given his background and the Browns' approach, Adofo-Mensah has been labeled an "analytics guy." He spoke to that, too, upon joining the Browns.
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— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 27, 2022
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been hired as the #Vikings General Manager.
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"At the end of the day, we're trying to make good decisions. These are uncertain things that we're trying to figure out, and so we try and be evidence-based," he said. "Coaches, scouts have been evidence-based in the NFL for a long time ... So I don't necessarily think that is some new thing, I think we're just applying it using different methods and also using it across football operations."
Former GM Rick Spielman was fired the day after the season, along with head coach Mike Zimmer. Spielman was with the team since 2006, and held the title of GM from 2012 onward. During his tenure as GM, only one team made more first-round picks than the Vikings.
Adofo-Mensah will have some big decisions to make ahead of next season, including tapping a new head coach.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins is currently on the books for a $45 million cap hit. The Vikings have several key players hitting free agency, including Anthony Barr, Patrick Peterson and kicker Greg Joseph. The Vikings are currently slated to pick 12th overall in April's draft.
The team interviewed at least eight candidates for the GM position.