Did Kevin O'Connell disagree with Vikings' J.J. McCarthy plan?

While the timing of their decision was odd, the decision itself wasn't.

The Minnesota Vikings on Friday moved on from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, whose track record in the NFL Draft left plenty to be desired. However, the fact that they did it weeks after the regular season ended raised some doubts about a potential new development or a rift.

Instead, this may have been a long time in the making. In fact, the young executive may have sealed his fate in the offseason.

Did Kevin O'Connell want a veteran quarterback for Minnesota Vikings?

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Adofo-Mensah's firing was rooted in his reluctance to get a proven veteran besides J.J. McCarthy.

“This was rooted in, if not driven by, the ill-fated quarterback decision of 2025. This tells us Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wanted what they got. J.J. McCarthy with journeyman backups. And that O’Connell was cautioning against it. He was the guy saying this isn’t going to work,” Florio said.

The Vikings had just won 14 games with Sam Darnold at quarterback, and they went from having two veteran starters on the roster to none. They doubled down on their commitment to an unproven rookie coming off a major injury, and, as expected, it didn't work out.

“It also suggests that, a year ago, O’Connell didn’t want to let Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones leave in free agency. And that O’Connell perhaps didn’t want to say 'no thank you' to Aaron Rodgers. J.J. McCarthy, who missed all of his rookie year with a knee injury, clearly was not ready. The Vikings absolutely needed a veteran backup plan better than signing Carson Wentz less than two weeks before the first game of the regular season,” Florio wrote.

Of course, this now raises doubts about McCarthy's status as the franchise quarterback. His coach doesn't think he was ready, and his biggest supporter is no longer in the building.

The Vikings have a playoff-caliber roster and play in arguably the most competitive division in football. All things considered, they might shock the world and pull off a big move to land a new signal caller for the 2026 season.