Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Lands on His Feet
Since the decision to fire Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, there have been no shortage of criticisms of the former GM’s time in Minnesota.
To be sure, there were mistakes and mishaps. The draft foibles are the most notable example, an ongoing failure that is still impacting Minnesota’s roster right now. Where would Adofo-Mensah end up? Would he still work in the NFL?
Consider the update that arrives courtesy of Matt Barrows: “49ers are welcoming back ex Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as a personnel executive, Lynch said.” To clarify, the Lynch who is mentioned is John Lynch, the general manager of the 49ers. Previously, Adofo-Mensah worked in San Francisco before landing in Cleveland and then Minnesota.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Back with the 49ers
Start off with what Adofo-Mensah did well.
A numbers nerd, the former Vikings GM did a nice job at negotiating contracts. He grinds at the negotiation table. The extensions for Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw, Josh Metellus, and various others were all strong deals. So, too, did he often do a nice job of adding free agent talent, made evident in the deals for Harrison Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, Aaron Jones, Sam Darnold, and others.
Some of his draft picks — most notably, AP1 kicker Will Reichard — performed well. Much optimism exists for Donovan Jackson, Jordan Addison, Dallas Turner, and others.
Lately, though, the focus has been on the ways that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah failed.
Just think to some of his trades for the 2025 season (even if he wasn’t always the one to blame). Shipping out Mr. Phillips was a poor decision. Sending out draft picks for an Adam Thielen who didn’t do much was bad, as well. Recouping value on Sam Howell made sense given that he wasn’t working out, but Adofo-Mensah needed to do better at supporting the QB position earlier in the offseason.
Indeed, the quarterback position was perhaps the greatest issue. Could it be anything other than quarterback in the modern NFL? Sometimes, the brilliant decision makers and less-than-brilliant decision makers can get sorted based on how the QBs perform.
Envision a world where J.J. McCarthy sizzled in 2025. If so, then Adofo-Mensah would still have his job.
A healthy, excellent McCarthy would have pushed Minnesota into the postseason given that the team still finished at 9-8 despite having such poor performance at the game’s key position. Making some noise in the playoffs, as far off as that feels right now, would have led to a future where Minnesota’s front office wasn’t being led by Rob Brzezinski (with some outside help).
The major part of what made firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah odd was the timing.
Seeing him get axed a day or two after the season wouldn’t have raised too many eyebrows. But several weeks afterwards? That was weird, especially since he already did his presser with the media after the season where he articulated some of his vision for where the franchise was heading.
More than a few people — fans, analysts, and writers alike — have connected the purple dots by arguing that Sam Darnold getting to the Super Bowl was the straw on the camel’s back. Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf tried to undermine the theory, but people will arrive at their own conclusions.
In San Francisco, Adofo-Mensah will get the chance to step away from the spotlight. Accepting a lower-level position means being able to escape the scrutiny while still perfecting his craft. A math wizard with a background in academia and investing, Adofo-Mensah seems likely to keep working in that facet of football — numbers, value, risk, and so on — for a tremendous organization that could launch him toward his next promotion.
In time, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going to get another shot to be an NFL GM. Don’t be at all surprised if he ends up doing very well. Combining high-level intelligence with an excellent work ethic generally leads to a good outcome in football (and other areas of life, too). Adofo-Mensah is a dreamer who hustles, so he’s going to do just fine.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is 44.
