Kwesi Fired...

savannahskol wrote:

Yes you were, and I appreciated your consistency, and the reasoning of his lack of experience re: drafts.

Interesting tidbit for you, … one of KAM’s biggest “endorsers” for the Viking GM gig was none other than Jim Harbaugh who worked with KAM in Frisco.   Harbaugh called him a “shining star”.

https://kfan.iheart.com/content/2022-02-04-jim-harbaugh-says-vikings-gm-kwesi-adofo-mensah-is-a-shining-star/

Knowing your regard for Harbaugh, ;)

I’m no special pleader for KAM (I reflexively distrust anyone with a hyphenated last name, lol)…
….however KAM went 43-25 ( 0.63) win percentage in his 4 yrs. The Vikings all time win percentage is 0.55.

I don't think Harbaugh has ever said anything bad about anyone. It would be unlike him to say, "well, nice guy, but I wouldn't trust him to run a successful NFL roster." 

Much of the success this team had under Mensah was due to being handed a playoff ready roster on day 1 by the prior regime. If Kwesi ever so much as sniffed another NFL GM job, I'd be shocked. Just saying

My favorite Moss memory was 2008 playoff ‘scoreboard’ moment at Lambeau.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GfM8uG1UH1g

KAM hired KOC & B-Flo.
KAM gave us a killa ‘24 FA of Jones, Darnold , Greenard, Gink and Cashman.
KAM had us excited ‘25 OL FA via Indy, until we weren’t.
Aforementioned 0.633 winning %.
Couple decent draft picks. (Not nearly enough, fo sho)
Gamble drafted a QB that still has potential to be franchise.
Plenty of draft picks, this year, for next GM.

^ cursory list, but as Mossy-Moss would say,
Not a bad ‘scoreboard’.

KAM lost me when he traded down for Cine.
Of all the Dawgs on that stacked record setting UGA defense….he took Cine.

This post at no one, just my purple thoughts.

This is very interesting. I think they dished more dirt here than in they do in about 20 regular pods.

Already burned-out on it.

Everyone got a take...

I really think the Vikings felt they needed insurance from McCarthy being green and would be able to retain Jones when Darnold walked.

They couldn't/didn't and were left scrambling and mistakenly signed Howell.

============================

Less than two months after he became Vikings general manager in January 2022, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah summarized his approach during his first free agency period by coining a phrase that would follow him for the rest of his tenure in Minnesota.

“I think when people look at teams, they sometimes do it in a very binary way,“ Adofo-Mensah said. ”They ask, ‘Are you either all-in or tearing down and rebuilding?’ And I don’t really look at the world that way.

“We’re trying to navigate both worlds. We’re trying to live in today and tomorrow, or the competitive rebuild, however you want to phrase it or market it.”

Even if the phrase ”competitive rebuild" became banal through hundreds of media mentions over the next four years, its original use neatly summarized the twin mandates Adofo-Mensah assumed after replacing Rick Spielman as Vikings GM: Fix the team’s straitened salary cap situation after years spent retaining aging players, and revitalize the core of the roster through successful drafts that would deliver starting-caliber players at various positions.

Adofo-Mensah brought an unconventional approach to the job, having come to the NFL after years as a Wall Street commodities trader, but the Vikings viewed him as a forward-thinking leader who could remake a football department that had grown stale in its final years under Spielman.

Four years later, Adofo-Mensah is leaving Minnesota after failing to deliver on one of his two mandates.

While the Vikings went 43-25 in Adofo-Mensah’s tenure, winning at least 13 games twice and capturing the NFC North title in 2022, they find themselves headed into another critical offseason, with an aging roster in need of salary cap relief after four years of drafts yielded 28 players who started only 172 combined games. The Vikings’ free agency moves, particularly in 2024, allowed them to circumvent some of the draft failures, but a lack of young, affordable talent forced them to pay for veteran players who could be more susceptible to injury. Rob Brzezinski, the team’s longtime executive vice president of football operations, spent the final years of Spielman’s tenure doing salary cap triage; he will do the same this year, while leading the Vikings front office through the draft as the team searches for Adofo-Mensah’s permanent replacement.

Learning on the job

Adofo-Mensah’s background led some around the NFL to view him with skepticism, and he acknowledged several times during his tenure that he was learning on the job, in everything from player evaluation to leading his front-office staff. Brzezinski stepped in to assist in some trade negotiations, while coach Kevin O’Connell served as an emissary during tense discussions such as Danielle Hunter’s 2023 hold-in. Sources spoke of frustration from the team’s scouting staff and from defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who let his contract expire before signing a new deal Jan. 21 that’s believed to be worth about $6 million annually.

The Vikings’ lack of draft success seemed to be a constant stressor, leaving the roster without the depth it needed to weather injuries and forcing Brzezinski to cover draft mistakes with cleverly structured contracts that were lucrative enough to woo players to Minnesota without putting the Vikings back in cap purgatory.

Had the Vikings kept the 12th pick in the 2022 NFL draft, sources said, they would have taken Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams. Instead, Adofo-Mensah traded back 20 spots in a deal with the Detroit Lions, who selected Williams while the Vikings took Georgia safety Lewis Cine. Cine played only 10 games in Minnesota without a start before his 2024 release, while the shortcomings of second-rounder Andrew Booth Jr. and fourth-rounder Akayleb Evans led the Vikings to pursue cornerback help through trades and free agency. After passing on the chance to take Williams, who has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in Detroit, the Vikings used their 2023 first-round pick on wide receiver Jordan Addison.

J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in 2024, was the highest-drafted QB in Vikings history and ultimately became the highest-drafted player in Adofo-Mensah’s tenure. He came to Minnesota after the organization had resolved to build around a young quarterback, and even though he missed his entire rookie season because of a torn meniscus, the Vikings believed they could win as he developed in 2025. Their lack of draft success, though, meant they would have to do it by spending a NFL-high $348 million on a roster filled with veterans whose durability and dynamism became questions in 2025.

Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave combined for only seven sacks after signing deals worth a combined $81 million in March; one, or both, could be cap casualties this year. After missing on three cornerbacks they took in the first four rounds in 2022 and ’23, though, the Vikings were forced to explore solutions in free agency, re-signing Byron Murphy Jr. to a three-year, $54 million deal while adding Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah. Ryan Kelly and Will Fries were expensive fixes at center and right guard, respectively, with Michael Jurgens not ready to start and 2022 second-round pick Ed Ingram having been traded to Houston. The Vikings also re-signed Aaron Jones Sr. and traded for Jordan Mason, giving the latter $10.5 million over two years, so they could avoid spending one of their five 2025 draft picks on a running back.

The Vikings went with McCarthy after extensive group discussions rather than placing the franchise tag on Sam Darnold or entertaining a one-year arrangement with Aaron Rodgers. But they had hoped they could re-sign Daniel Jones and effectively make him the 2025 version of Darnold: the veteran quarterback who could keep them in contention if McCarthy was injured or ineffective.

Jones, though, passed up a competitive offer from the Vikings and signed a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts, with whom he believed he had a better chance to beat out Anthony Richardson than he had against McCarthy in Minnesota. Jones threw 19 touchdown passes against eight interceptions with the Colts before tearing an Achilles tendon; had he remained with the Vikings, he might have staked the team to a playoff spot.

“I don’t want to say overconfidence, but I do think him being here was something that we considered and thought would impact his decision,” Adofo-Mensah said of Jones in a news conference Jan. 13. “But ultimately, they are free agents, and you have to treat it as such. No matter what the conversation is or relationships are, free agents are free for a reason, and they’re allowed to vet all their options. And ultimately, we could have executed better around that.”

A matter of trust
Even as their opinions differed at times, Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s relationship never seemed to sour the way Spielman’s did in his final season with Mike Zimmer, who viewed the team’s four third-round picks in the 2021 draft as a breaking point.

But keeping Adofo-Mensah might have required more trust from the team’s personnel department and from Flores (whose voice in roster decisions seems to be increasing) than the GM ultimately had. Brzezinski, the skilled cap surgeon who has been with the team since 1999, will instead lead the effort in an offseason when the Vikings need to clear roughly $40 million in cap space by March.

The decision the Wilf family reached Friday, Jan. 30, after several days of deliberations following their end-of-season meetings, ultimately seemed to hinge on the question of whether their football department could reach consensus with Adofo-Mensah at the center of it and continue the two-front strategy they had pursued after hiring him.
Heading into a draft where the Vikings will likely have nine picks, including four in the first three rounds, their owners decided they could not.

“Of course, every offseason is critical,” co-owner Mark Wilf said Friday. “but we’re excited here about the possibilities with the draft capital we now have, and taking a hard look at free agency. So, we’re excited about it, but we have to get it right. We need young players that we can build on for the future and keep this thing moving forward. We’ve had some success, but certainly we’re disappointed where we were last this past season, and we know our fans want a lot more.”

STRIB

All the speculation seems to miss a couple of very real facts: our o-line was in constant flux, and our rushing attack was, as usual, the secondary consideration of our head coach.

For every person wailing that Sam/Daniel would've had us deep in the playoffs, I remind them that they also may have needed shoulder surgery like Wentz and/or ankle, hand, and concussion issues.

KAM rolled dice in some odd ways, and apparently missed badly enough often enough to get pink slipped. The result is still a TON of pressure on our coaches/players to get their own butts off of the warming seats....

Zanary wrote:
All the speculation seems to miss a couple of very real facts: our o-line was in constant flux, and our rushing attack was, as usual, the secondary consideration of our head coach.

For every person wailing that Sam/Daniel would've had us deep in the playoffs, I remind them that they also may have needed shoulder surgery like Wentz and/or ankle, hand, and concussion issues.

KAM rolled dice in some odd ways, and apparently missed badly enough often enough to get pink slipped. The result is still a TON of pressure on our coaches/players to get their own butts off of the warming seats....

My take is he had recent disagreements with the staff regarding personnel and the related roster decision making and they lost complete faith.  At that point you stick with your own evaluations as ownership as to whom was better as one had to go.  

Contrary to the many talking points being thrown around, it had nothing to do with the QB decision last year.  And what I find so frustrating is fan buy in and blame being placed  that Sammy should have been retained when absolutely No one wanted him after last year.

Bullazin wrote:
It’s all speculation and 90% of it is wrong. Great stuff for writers and fans though.

My take is he had recent disagreements with the staff regarding personnel and the related roster decision making and they lost complete faith.  At that point you stick with your own evaluations as ownership as to whom was better as one had to go.  

Contrary to the many talking points being thrown around, it had nothing to do with the QB decision last year.  And what I find so frustrating is fan buy in and blame being placed  that Sammy should have been retained when absolutely No one wanted him after last year.

https://vikefans.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=19800&highlight=Darnold

Here’s the most discussed thread on Sammy last year

Bullazin wrote:
It’s all speculation and 90% of it is wrong. Great stuff for writers and fans though.

My take is he had recent disagreements with the staff regarding personnel and the related roster decision making and they lost complete faith.  At that point you stick with your own evaluations as ownership as to whom was better as one had to go.  

Contrary to the many talking points being thrown around, it had nothing to do with the QB decision last year.  And what I find so frustrating is fan buy in and blame being placed  that Sammy should have been retained when absolutely No one wanted him after last year.

https://vikefans.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=19800&highlight=Darnold

Here’s the most discussed thread on Sammy last year

StickierBuns wrote:

Totally agree. The Daniel Jones trust was KOC's/org's worst decision because they didn't understand the situation fully because they were surprised he left. That was definitely their top plan I believe. Howell was a complete scramble, no doubt. That situation deserves criticism, IMO. I think the plan was for Jones to push JJM to QB1 or in case of complete shit show, Danny Dimes would have started. Not a horrible plan, but the Indy path was more attractive as the path was easier to QB1.

This is a fun thread to revisit. Can tell where everyone stood on it. 'If Darnold makes the playoffs, hold onto your hats', lmao. Just a little better than that.

Seattle has demonstrated a more optimal way to use and surround the guy with important talent. He can make plays, but doesnt have to win games on his own. Vikings couldn't do that with the OL and run game they had when he was here. 

I was totally on board with the Vikings plan after Darnolds last two games in MN. 

What I didn't forsee was JJM missing a big chunk of a year again and the Vikings underachieving with QB2 so badly.

The irony of talking about the importance of culture and now there is this toxic level of damage control. What a joke

Vikergirl wrote:
The irony of talking about the importance of culture and now there is this toxic level of damage control. What a joke

No doubt.  I feel like you go back in time a couple weeks and the story was good team where everyone likes to work but a year of bad QBing.  Now we’re like some drama filled cess pit of back-stabbing where the media vultures are throwing out massive amounts of shit for clicks and it makes us look like one of the disfunctional organizations.

Vikergirl wrote:
The irony of talking about the importance of culture and now there is this toxic level of damage control. What a joke

And this is the second time in five years tensions and toxic culture within the organization have happened under the Wilf's watch. Someone sell me again on how the Wilf's and their football decisions aren't the problem with this organization.

supafreak84 wrote:

And this is the second time in five years tensions and toxic culture within the organization have happened under the Wilf's watch. Someone sell me again on how the Wilf's and their football decisions aren't the problem with this organization.

I dont want to get too far down the rabbit hole, already looking ahead. 

But hiring Zimmer wasn't a mistake in the same vein hiring KAM was...

But hey, fool me once? Shame on you...

purplefaithful wrote:

I dont want to get too far down the rabbit hole, already looking ahead. 

But hiring Zimmer wasn't a mistake in the same vein hiring KAM was...

But hey, fool me once? Shame on you...

Spielman hired Zimmer, but yeah, Spielman was the one good decision they've made in 21 years. The list of people the Wilfs have hired or decisions they've made otherwise is rough...

Childress
Triangle of authority 
Frazier (let me check the tape)
Kwesi
KOC over Harbaugh

...and now this latest debacle of not firing the GM immediately after the season ended, trudging forward with Bryzezinski (who is a finance guy with no scouting background) running an extremely important offseason and draft before we start the search for a new GM. They can wax poetic about their "process" in firing or hiring someone all they want because nobody is buying it. This entire GM situation was bungled about as badly as possible by the Wilf's, but that's par for the course when reflecting on their football decisions.

supafreak84 wrote:

Spielman hired Zimmer, but yeah, Spielman was the one good decision they've made in 21 years. The list of people the Wilfs have hired or decisions they've made otherwise is rough...

Childress
Triangle of authority 
Frazier (let me check the tape)
Kwesi
KOC over Harbaugh

...and now this latest debacle of not firing the GM immediately after the season ended, trudging forward with Bryzezinski (who is a finance guy with no scouting background) running an extremely important offseason and draft before we start the search for a new GM. They can wax poetic about their "process" in firing or hiring someone all they want becaise nobody is buying it. This entire GM situation was bungled about as badly as possible by the Wilf's, but that's par for the course when reflecting on their football decisions.

You're reaching by putting KOC on the list (yet)

purplefaithful wrote:

You're reaching by putting KOC on the list (yet)

Like I said, the blooms off the rose for me when it comes to O'Connell after this last season. If Kwesi wanted to hire Harbaugh and the Wilfs cut him off at the knees (which has been rumored), it's not a good look for them.

I guess it's like the pendulum swing, they went one way and are now going another until they find some balance

supafreak84 wrote:

Spielman hired Zimmer, but yeah, Spielman was the one good decision they've made in 21 years. The list of people the Wilfs have hired or decisions they've made otherwise is rough...

Childress
Triangle of authority 
Frazier (let me check the tape)
Kwesi
KOC over Harbaugh

...and now this latest debacle of not firing the GM immediately after the season ended, trudging forward with Bryzezinski (who is a finance guy with no scouting background) running an extremely important offseason and draft before we start the search for a new GM. They can wax poetic about their "process" in firing or hiring someone all they want because nobody is buying it. This entire GM situation was bungled about as badly as possible by the Wilf's, but that's par for the course when reflecting on their football decisions.

And it looks like we are back to the triangle of authority with KOC, Flores, and Brzezinski.  Who gets the final call related to draft picks?  So far this ownership structure is a cluster fuck, I mean you have 2 1/2 months until the draft, shouldn't ownership have a list or indication on who they would potentially interview for the GM job?  What GM is going to want to come into a situation where the head coach has been given control over player personnel after the draft and free agency has already happened.

supafreak84 wrote:

Spielman hired Zimmer, but yeah, Spielman was the one good decision they've made in 21 years. The list of people the Wilfs have hired or decisions they've made otherwise is rough...

Childress
Triangle of authority 
Frazier (let me check the tape)
Kwesi
KOC over Harbaugh

...and now this latest debacle of not firing the GM immediately after the season ended, trudging forward with Bryzezinski (who is a finance guy with no scouting background) running an extremely important offseason and draft before we start the search for a new GM. They can wax poetic about their "process" in firing or hiring someone all they want because nobody is buying it. This entire GM situation was bungled about as badly as possible by the Wilf's, but that's par for the course when reflecting on their football decisions.

Purple Daily speculated that a big part of the problem is that the Wilf's still are absentee residing in New Jersey primarily and running their other businesses.    I think there is some validity to them being a little clueless about the culture seeing as they're largely not there.  I think they're great owners in some way, but I think they need more presence on site.  At this point, you lean on your long tenured scouts and coaches and see what you can piece together this next draft.  I gotta believe they have Paton in their plans moving forward after next year.

Waterboy wrote:

Purple Daily speculated that a big part of the problem is that the Wilf's still are absentee residing in New Jersey primarily and running their other businesses.    I think there is some validity to them being a little clueless about the culture seeing as they're largely not there.  I think they're great owners in some way, but I think they need more presence on site.  At this point, you lean on your long tenured scouts and coaches and see what you can piece together this next draft.  I gotta believe they have Paton in their plans moving forward after next year.

Agree with everything regarding the Wilfs and even in their likely interest in Paton... But I hope the Vikings do not hire him.

I really dislike Sean Payton but at the same time, I'm pretty sure he's had a heavy hand on Denver's roster. Hard to say how much of their recent success is attributable to Paton.

I’m not at all surprised by this. KAM has had poor drafts overall during his term. He’s burned through picks trading around and been taken advantage of by other GM’s. One glaring example that floored me was his trading a No. 11, 129, and 157 for number 10 to take JJM. It was a stupid mistake.

I said back then and still contend today that KOC loved Bo Nix and saw him as a day 1 starter. JJM, who has considerable talent, was always going to need time. A scenario like what Jordan Love or Rodger’s went through was ideal for a guy like JJ. It’s not that JJ can’t be successful, it’s just at a minimum, you had to have an extremely solid backup in place.

Fast forward to more recent, KOC had to know JJ wasn’t ready. The injuries have definitely set back development. Clearly, KOC did not get his way with this. With his winning record, I don’t see KOC being even close to worrying about his job right now.

As for a new GM, I like Reed Burckhardt, the Assistant GM with the Broncos. He started with the Vikings and worked his way up through the scouting department and player personnel for 14 years. He left with George Paton. He’s ready. Not that it particularly matters, but he’s a Minnesota guy as well. I am admittedly biased as his wife is a friend of ours. ?

supafreak84 wrote:

Spielman hired Zimmer, but yeah, Spielman was the one good decision they've made in 21 years. The list of people the Wilfs have hired or decisions they've made otherwise is rough...

Childress
Triangle of authority 
Frazier (let me check the tape)
Kwesi
KOC over Harbaugh

...and now this latest debacle of not firing the GM immediately after the season ended, trudging forward with Bryzezinski (who is a finance guy with no scouting background) running an extremely important offseason and draft before we start the search for a new GM. They can wax poetic about their "process" in firing or hiring someone all they want because nobody is buying it. This entire GM situation was bungled about as badly as possible by the Wilf's, but that's par for the course when reflecting on their football decisions.

You forgot Fran Foley.

I feel like these guys bought a football team because it would be "fun" but the hard work and effort to really manage it and build a champion is not there.  The hiring process has been bad since day 1, the experiments like TOA and out of box GM hire haven't worked and were maybe questionable to try in the first place.
My hope is maybe when they pass the franchise on to their kids, one of them will have some passion and energy and do what it takes to become a real contender, instead of this "always competitive" mantra we get from Mark Wilf that to me is really just kind of a dismal rinse-repeat at this point.