Why did Kwesi Adofo-Mensah get fired? Explaining Minnesota’s sudden GM change

The offseason lore has just gotten crazier, the Minnesota Vikings have fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, ending his four-year run. The decision was announced Friday by team ownership and this comes less than a year after Adofo-Mensah received a multi-year contract extension and follows a 2025 season that fell short of expectations.The club’s ownership group, led by Mark and Zygi Wilf, released a statement saying that after their annual end-of-season organizational meetings, they determined it was “in the best interest of the team to move forward with new leadership of our football operations.” They thanked Adofo-Mensah for his contributions and wished him and his family well.Effective immediately, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski will oversee the Vikings’ front office through the 2026 NFL Draft. After the draft, the team plans to conduct a thorough search for its next general manager.Adofo-Mensah’s tenure began in January 2022, when he was hired alongside head coach Kevin O’Connell. Over four seasons, the Vikings posted a 43-25 regular-season record and made the playoffs twice. However, the team did not secure a postseason win during his time as GM.The 2025 campaign ended with a 9-8 record and no playoff seat, a regression from the 14-3 season the year prior. That 2024 performance, while strong in the regular season, also did not culminate in a playoff win.Adofo-Mensah’s approach to personnel and drafting was a defining aspect of his leadership. Reporting from ESPN and others noted that the Vikings have generated relatively few starts from players drafted between 2022 and 2025 and no Pro Bowl selections from those classes, metrics that contributed to questions about long-term roster construction.Despite those criticisms, the team finished with multiple winning records and competitive seasons under his watch, a mix of achievement and unmet goals.The timing of Adofo-Mensah’s departure, nearly four weeks after the regular season ended and just months before the April draft actually caught many by surprise, especially given his recent contract extension.Veteran executive Rob Brzezinski, who has deep experience within the Vikings’ front office and strong institutional knowledge, is now tasked with leading the club’s personnel strategy through the draft before a permanent general manager is named.Looking ahead, Minnesota’s next steps in hiring a GM and approaching the draft will be among the biggest storylines of an NFL offseason already in motion.