Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fired as Vikings GM in surprise front-office shakeup
The Minnesota Vikings made major vikings news Friday, announcing that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been relieved of his duties as vikings GM—a sudden move that comes only months after he signed a multi-year extension and just weeks after the season ended. Ownership said the club will operate under interim leadership through the 2026 NFL Draft, then begin a full search for a replacement.
The decision lands with the offseason calendar accelerating: the Senior Bowl week is wrapping up, free agency is approaching, and draft prep is moving into its most intense stretch.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah out as Vikings GM
In a statement posted Friday, the Vikings said the organization will “move forward with new leadership” of football operations after end-of-season meetings. The move is effective immediately.
Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski will lead day-to-day operations through the 2026 NFL Draft (April), after which the club intends to conduct a thorough search for its next general manager.
For fans scanning headlines like “vikings fire gm” and “kwesi fired,” the most concrete takeaway is that Minnesota is choosing change now rather than letting a lame-duck front office handle the most important roster-building months of the year.
What pushed the MN Vikings to act now
The mn vikings finished the 2025 season outside the playoffs, and the timing suggests ownership weighed results and organizational direction during the weeks that followed. The move is also notable because Adofo-Mensah had addressed the team’s outlook publicly in mid-January, then traveled to Mobile, Alabama, for Senior Bowl scouting work—signs that, until recently, his role looked stable.
On-field outcomes were only one layer. Over four seasons, the Vikings posted winning records more often than not, but playoff success never followed: the club went 0-2 in the postseason during his tenure. Internally, league chatter around “tension” in the building also intensified this season, adding to the sense that ownership wanted a reset in how decisions are made and aligned.
There’s also the roster-construction question. Minnesota pushed to stay competitive while trying to develop a young quarterback, committing significant cash to the roster in 2025. When that approach didn’t produce a playoff berth, the risk of sticking with the same blueprint became harder to justify.
Timeline: extension to dismissal in eight months
| Date (ET) | Event |
|---|---|
| May 30, 2025 | Vikings announce a multi-year contract extension for Adofo-Mensah |
| Jan. 13, 2026 | Adofo-Mensah holds end-of-season media availability after the season ends |
| Week of Jan. 26, 2026 | Adofo-Mensah scouts Senior Bowl practices in Mobile |
| Jan. 30, 2026 | Vikings announce Adofo-Mensah has been relieved of duties; Brzezinski takes over through the draft |
The whiplash is the point: a multi-year commitment in spring 2025 followed by a late-January firing underscores how quickly NFL ownership can pivot once it decides a different leadership voice is needed.
Rob Brzezinski steps in through the 2026 draft
Brzezinski has long been a key figure in Minnesota’s football operation, widely respected for his salary-cap expertise and institutional knowledge. In the interim role, his job won’t be to “be the next GM” so much as to keep the machine running: align coaching and personnel departments, manage the roster and cap decisions that can’t wait, and maintain a coherent draft process through April.
That matters because the Vikings’ next few months are packed with consequential choices—contracts, possible veteran departures, and draft strategy. A caretaker approach that simply freezes decision-making would be risky; the team’s statement makes clear the club expects Brzezinski to build consensus and keep personnel work moving.
What’s next for the Vikings front office
The Vikings have signaled they’ll wait until after the draft to run a full-scale GM search, which implies Brzezinski will shepherd the scouting and selection process already underway. After that, Minnesota’s next general manager will inherit a roster built for immediate contention but still facing classic roster-cycle questions: where the team must get younger, where it needs more depth, and how it supports quarterback development without overextending resources.
For now, the headlines will keep cycling—“vikings gm change,” “kwesi fired,” and “vikings news” updates—while the real story shifts behind the scenes: who influences the board, how the draft plan is finalized, and whether this leadership change alters the team’s risk tolerance in free agency.
Sources consulted: Minnesota Vikings (official statement), ESPN, Minnesota Star Tribune, MPR News, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports
