A few weeks after the conclusion of the 2021 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings have found a new general manager to lead the organization after firing Rick Spielman shortly after the regular season concluded.
On Tuesday, reports started to surface that Cleveland Browns vice president of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was one of two finalists for the vacant general manager position, will end up getting hired to lead the front office in 2022 and beyond. On Wednesday, the Vikings officially announced they hired Adofo-Mensah as their next general manager.
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been hired as the #Vikings General Manager.
📰: https://t.co/7wTAZJ0W1r pic.twitter.com/3CFMdqoWOJ
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 27, 2022
On Jan. 17, Adofo-Mensah initially interviewed with Minnesota for the lead front office job, earning himself a second interview with the ownership group on Tuesday. Along with Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, Adofo-Mensah later became one of two finalists for the opening. His candidacy was excelled when Poles agreed to become the general manager of the Chicago Bears on the same day Adofo-Mensah was back in Minnesota for a second interview.
With Adofo-Mensah appearing to be the new general manager for the Vikings, let’s introduce you to the new decision-maker in Minnesota and what he could bring to the organization.
Get To Know Minnesota Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Adofo-Mensah’s Background
Adofo-Mensah’s journey to the NFL is a unique one, having started more in the financial field before deciding he wanted to jump into the sports world. The 40-year-old is a smart individual, owning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton and a master’s degree in economics from Stanford.
After getting his degree, Adofo-Mensah worked as a trader on Wall Street, working as an associate portfolio manager, commodities trader, and vice president and executive director with a few different companies.
In 2013, Adofo-Mensah decided to pursue a career in football, jumping into the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers that year as their manager of football research and development. In 2020, Cleveland took a shot at bringing in Adofo-Mensah in an expanded role, hiring him as vice president of football operations to work closely with general manager Andrew Berry on roster and strategy decisions.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s resume:
2020-present: Browns VP football ops
2017-19: 49ers director research/development
2013-17: 49ers manager research/development
Before that, he was a VP at a firm doing commodities trading.
Bachelor’s degree from Princeton; Master’s from Stanford.— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) January 25, 2022
Now two years removed from being hired by the Browns, Adofo-Mensah has earned himself another promotion, this time as general manager in Minnesota.
New Leader for the Vikings
Early on in the hiring process, the Vikings ownership group publicly stated they would be searching for a candidate with a diverse background who could bring a unique perspective to Minnesota’s front office. One thing is clear with Adofo-Mensah in that he hits that description perfectly.
Adofo-Mensah is not only smart when it comes to numbers and dealing with salaries, a key part of being a general manager, but he has a strong analytics background as well. Those characteristics could provide benefits on multiple fronts with the Vikings right away.
The new leader in Minnesota has earned praise from many throughout the league since he joined the NFL in 2013. Adofo-Mensah has been credited with leading whatever organization he has been with in coming up with advanced and unique game strategies and evaluation methods, areas of which might be the wave of the future for NFL general managers.
Browns EVP, Football Operations & GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski on Adofo-Mensah pic.twitter.com/gS9wPsZBNt
— Vikings Communications (@VikingsPR) January 27, 2022
Adofo-Mensah doesn’t have as impressive of a resume as other general manager candidates might have, specifically an individual like Poles who was the other finalist for the job in Minnesota. But his quick rise up the NFL ranks and unique perspective on how he would handle a franchise could be worth the Vikings taking a chance on into the future.
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Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
