The Vikings are closing in on Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their next GM (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The deal could be done as soon as Wednesday, per RapSheet.
Adofo-Mensah was one of two finalists in Minnesota, alongside Ryan Poles. But, after the Bears pounced on the former Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel, Adofo-Mensah was the last man standing.
Adofo-Mensah was also in the running for the Panthers' job last year, but he didn’t make it to the finalist stage. Before joining Cleveland’s front office in 2020 under Andrew Berry, the Stanford grad spent seven years with the 49ers. The Bears also looked at him in this cycle before settling on Poles.
Now, he’ll take over for longtime GM Rick Spielman and lead the search for Mike Zimmer‘s replacement. The Vikings have already begun doing their homework on that front, chatting with eight candidates including ex-49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. Adofo-Mensah overlapped with Ryans for three years, so it’s possible that he’ll have a leg up on the competition.
Outside of Adofo-Mensah and Poles, the Vikings also considered:
- Brandon Brown, director of player personnel (Eagles): Interviewed 1/18
- Glenn Cook, vice president of player personnel (Browns): Interviewed 1/20
- Monti Ossenfort, director of player personnel (Titans): Interviewed 1/16
- Catherine Raiche, vice president of football operations (Eagles): Interviewed 1/17
- John Spytek, vice president of player personnel (Buccaneers): Interviewed 1/17
- Eliot Wolf, senior consultant (Patriots): Interviewed 1/20
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