A chain reaction could expedite the Vikings' search for a general manager.
Minnesota is working to hire Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as its next GM, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Adofo-Mensah is the "final finalist" per Rapoport, and is in the process of completing a second interview with the Vikings.
Minnesota had been interested in both Adofo-Mensah and Chiefs executive Ryan Poles for the Vikings' GM vacancy, but after Chicago hired Poles as its new GM on Tuesday, that left Adofo-Mensah as the remaining finalist in Minnesota. With their pool cut down to one, the Vikings don't appear to be wasting any time.
Adofo-Mensah has spent the last two seasons as the Browns' vice president of football operations, working under wunderkind GM Andrew Berry as part of an operation that saw the Browns to an 11-5 finish and their first playoff victory since the 1994 season in 2020. Cleveland came back to earth in 2021, finishing 8-9 while battling multiple injuries at key positions.
Prior to his time in Cleveland, Adofo-Mensah worked for the San Francisco 49ers from 2013-2019, beginning as manager of football research before advancing to director of football research. He moved east to Cleveland after Berry returned to the Browns in his current role.
Adofo-Mensah was one of seven initial candidates for the opening, with Brandon Brown (Eagles), Glenn Cook (Browns), Catherine Raiche (Eagles), Eliot Wolf (Patriots), John Spytek (Buccaneers) and Poles (Chiefs) rounding out the group. Minnesota scheduled second interviews with Adofo-Mensah and Poles for this week, with the former's return to Minnesota coming Tuesday and Poles' originally planned for Wednesday.
The Princeton-educated Adofo-Mensah would be tasked hiring a head coach to replace Mike Zimmer and returning the Vikings to the postseason after missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
