BREAKING: Down to 2 for Viking's GM job?

[Guest]

@Kentis said:
A little birdie says Mensah & Mark Wilf are both Princeton graduates, not that it matters…   

Probably from the same frat.

[Guest]

Jason La Canfora

@JasonLaCanfora

·22m

Minnesota Vikings are honing in on their next GM. Would be very surprised if Ryan Poles of the KC Chiefs is not hired for the position

[Guest]

Albert Breer

@AlbertBreer

·8h

Worth mentioning too that DeMeco Ryans worked with Browns VP of football ops Kwesi Adofo-Mensah—a finalist for Vikings GM job—in San Francisco.

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Nick Wagoner

@nwagoner

· 8h

#49ers probably gonna be searching for a new defensive coordinator again this offseason.

DeMeco Ryans could show up for interview with Vikings tomorrow, hand over the game tape and say “let my agent know when you want to talk numbers.”

What a job by that group tonight.

[Guest]

@JustinTime18™ said:

Albert Breer

@AlbertBreer

·8h

Worth mentioning too that DeMeco Ryans worked with Browns VP of football ops Kwesi Adofo-Mensah—a finalist for Vikings GM job—in San Francisco.

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Nick Wagoner

@nwagoner

· 8h

#49ers probably gonna be searching for a new defensive coordinator again this offseason.

DeMeco Ryans could show up for interview with Vikings tomorrow, hand over the game tape and say “let my agent know when you want to talk numbers.”

What a job by that group tonight.

I'm in such a good mood this morning after the Packer debacle I don't care if they hire Weird Al as GM. Packer's fans tears SOOOO sweet.

[Guest]

@JR44 said:

@StickyBun said:
IMO, its Ryan Poles's job to lose. I think that he did have an 'impressive' first interview as reported with Minnesota. I don't see how a team is going to hire a 32 year old analytics nerd for the GM spot with Adofo-Mensah. Poles is on a Superbowl winning organization, has seen Andy Reid (a great offensive coach) at work. 

I agree on Kwesi, I am sure he was brought in by Depodesta to be an analytics guy for them.  I just don't see how a 32 year old former basketball player who worked on Wall Street is qualified to run a team.  I don't see either guy being an improvement of Spielman. 

Yea, I am no Mensa, but he makes me Kwesi at best

His Bio is full of question marks for me?  It says he is 32 but not sure.  Yet he got a BS degree from Princeton in 2003 (a couple of sources indicate but they may be from the same) so he would have played Basketball and received a BS degree at 13/14 years old.  Some things are not adding up to me in an analytics kinda way    

When I used to hire folks for 6 figure jobs you look for consistency in a CV/resume and in-person.  I'm positive the Vikings got thier answers but on "media" paper this guy is an unknown?  Not sure of age, not sure if he is married, don't know brothers and sisters' names - again all per media not being able to get the information so that means he is not on facebook , and never has been like me

Then you see that he has only been associated with the NFL for 9 years starting with SF as a football R&D position????  He has been with the Browns less then 2 years.



"Cleveland Browns General Manager Andrew Berry hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah from the San Francisco 49ers in May of 2020 to fill the VP of Football Operations position, previously occupied by Eliot Wolf. Berry has been able to put together an extremely well-educated staff, littered with Ivy League graduates.        (So what IMO)Adofo-Mensah is a graduate of Princeton and although his journey to the Browns front office has not been a conventional one, he is already getting notice around the NFL. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network says that Adofo-Mensah is being mentioned around the league and could be a sleeper candidate for an open General Manager position.

From @gmfb Weekend on #Browns exec Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as a sleeper GM candidate this year. The Princeton grad has spent a lot of time with scouts, both in Cleveland and with the #49ers. He's a well-rounded candidate and could sneak into a few searches. pic.twitter.com/0G6NCMVNfF
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 2, 2021

Adofo-Mensah held the director of football research and development position for the 49ers before Berry hired him in Cleveland. Just 10 years prior, he held titles like commodities trader and portfolio manager on Wall Street. His first job in football came when he was hired by the 49ers in 2013. He spoke about his work history when he was hired by Berry,

I think my background was a positive because I did not have any preconceived notions or biases…When I sat in a room with great evaluators that I have been around in San Francisco, I just took everything they told me. I tried to find the intuition behind it. I ask ‘why’ a lot. You will find that out about me. I wanted to know even the most simple question. You might think it is simple, but I am building the complex bridge that will get me somewhere complex.    (Sounds like a load of corporate crap IMO)

Berry has been praised by many around the NFL for the job he has done in Cleveland so far, which is evident by the attention his staff is already getting."




I really don't like him as a candidate for our GM position.  
I hope that Poles is still in the poll position of the candidates we have interviewed.  

[Guest]

Just reading the thread I think the whole concept of "analytics" in the NFL is very misunderstood. Hiring the analytics guy doesn't mean they're going to let a computer crank out their draft picks. It does mean they'll probably advance the ways they allocate money throughout the roster and value specific player types. 

I'll offer an example. In 2019 the Vikings opted to franchise tag Anthony Harris and pay two safeties >$10M per season. From a personnel standpoint, you like the player and he is worth the cost. The short-sighted aspect that analytics would exploit is that although the player is good the ROI on two high prices safeties is not there. You're better off spending some money elsewhere. 

Aside from that, the counter argument to you hire the analytics guy as the consultant, is that you can hire high-end personnel evaluators as well. 

The most important skillset of any GM is the ability to lead and drive decision-making. So surround yourself with the people to effectively make the right decision. You don't need an analytics or personnel background to do that. Honestly you could hire someone straight off wall street to do it with no NFL experience at all. Albeit that wouldn't happen. 

[Guest]

@"Geoff Nichols" said:
Just reading the thread I think the whole concept of "analytics" in the NFL is very misunderstood. Hiring the analytics guy doesn't mean they're going to let a computer crank out their draft picks. It does mean they'll probably advance the ways they allocate money throughout the roster and value specific player types. 

I'll offer an example. In 2019 the Vikings opted to franchise tag Anthony Harris and pay two safeties >$10M per season. From a personnel standpoint, you like the player and he is worth the cost. The short-sighted aspect that analytics would exploit is that although the player is good the ROI on two high prices safeties is not there. You're better off spending some money elsewhere. 

Aside from that, the counter argument to you hire the analytics guy as the consultant, is that you can hire high-end personnel evaluators as well. 

The most important skillset of any GM is the ability to lead and drive decision-making. So surround yourself with the people to effectively make the right decision. You don't need an analytics or personnel background to do that. Honestly you could hire someone straight off wall street to do it with no NFL experience at all. Albeit that wouldn't happen. 

Really interested to know if you would like to share you favorite candidates for the GM and HC positions. 

[Guest]

@JR44 said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said:
Just reading the thread I think the whole concept of "analytics" in the NFL is very misunderstood. Hiring the analytics guy doesn't mean they're going to let a computer crank out their draft picks. It does mean they'll probably advance the ways they allocate money throughout the roster and value specific player types. 

I'll offer an example. In 2019 the Vikings opted to franchise tag Anthony Harris and pay two safeties >$10M per season. From a personnel standpoint, you like the player and he is worth the cost. The short-sighted aspect that analytics would exploit is that although the player is good the ROI on two high prices safeties is not there. You're better off spending some money elsewhere. 

Aside from that, the counter argument to you hire the analytics guy as the consultant, is that you can hire high-end personnel evaluators as well. 

The most important skillset of any GM is the ability to lead and drive decision-making. So surround yourself with the people to effectively make the right decision. You don't need an analytics or personnel background to do that. Honestly you could hire someone straight off wall street to do it with no NFL experience at all. Albeit that wouldn't happen. 

Really interested to know if you would like to share you favorite candidates for the GM and HC positions. 

Both Kwesi and Poles were high on my list for GM. I think it ultimately comes down to each of their plans for the roster. 

If you're open to innovation and chance in mindset I think Kwesi is probably the right choice. Its truly getting a different perspective and look on things. I also feel confident he'd hire an appropriate personnel staff around him to cover up that blind spot. Jamaal Stephenson has historically done well for the Vikings and Kwesi is rumored to be high on him as well. So there would be some continuity. The 49ers and Browns have both done well as forward-thinking organization building through the trenches and identifying market inefficiencies. 

Poles on the other-hand is more of a traditionalist. The big draw from the Vikings point of view is the Chiefs are one of the few teams to "rebuild" without tearing down their roster. They stayed competitive and found a way to achieve that next level. Other than that its hard to know how much he's been involved with in KC. The biggest thing with the Chiefs is that they've really been risk takers and that works with a veteran coaching staff. I'm not 100% sure that method is something that fits the Vikings culture as it currently stands. 

I guess if you'd make me choose, I'd lean Kwesi ever so slightly. 

As for HC I have mentioned DeMeco Ryan's as a dark-horse before he even got an interview. I am a big believer in what he is doing. Otherwise I would take strong looks at Jonathan Gannon. People may argue we need an offensive mind, but the truth is the talent pool just isn't great on that side of the ball. 

[Guest]

Thx Geoff....Kwesi would not surprise me in the least.

I agree, he'd need to really have a good personnel staff at his disposal (who wouldn't?) sounds like he's already of fan of Jamaal, so that gives me some peace of mind. 

It would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall when the Wilfs and their committee gets together to hash it out. I dont know who's really got their ear the most or what their perspectives are on how to move ahead. 

[Guest]

Thanks Geoff, I have not been a fan of Kwesi but would feel better about him after your assessment.  I would definitely be on board with Ryans!