Rob Brzezinski Could Land Full-Time Vikings GM Position
Since Kwesi-Adofo Mensah‘s firing, the Vikings have opted to delay the search for his replacement. Rob Brzezinski handled interim general manager duties through free agency and the draft.
Minnesota’s attention will now turn to the matter of the front office. The hiring cycle for most GM candidates has of course long ended, but the team’s actions in the near future will be key. Brzezinski may find himself handling general manager duties on a full-time basis, with CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reporting he is a “strong candidate for the permanent job.”
Interestingly, Jones add Brzezinski might also wind up securing a promotion as a result of the Vikings’ GM search. Minnesota could add a general manager from outside the organization but set up a reporting structure which includes Brzezinski outranking the new arrival with a title along the lines of president of football operations. Alternatively, the team could simply maintain the status quo which has been in place since Adofo-Mensah’s firing, a move which ended his four-year run in charge.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert writes the Vikings’ search is expected to be “open-ended,” adding Brzezinski should not be considered a “preferred candidate” at this point. Nevertheless, he adds Brzezinski has support from within the front office to secure the full-time GM gig. It will be interesting to see how many outside candidates receive a look before owners Zygi and Mark Wilf make a final call. Jones adds head coach Kevin O’Connell is likely to have input in the GM search, an unsurprising development given the weight his voice carries in the organization.
Brzezinski began his NFL front office career with the Dolphins before joining the Vikings in 1999. He has been with Minnesota since then, handling key roles in the football administration department through 2013. The following year, he took on the title of executive vice president of football operations. Brzezinski has remained in that role since then, with the exception of his current stint leading the front office. Whether or not he will continue doing so remains to be seen.
Latest On Vikings’ GM Search
It’s been just over two months since the Vikings parted ways with former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, yet Minnesota still hasn’t begun the process of replacing him, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. At the NFL’s annual league meeting, though, Vikings president/co-owner Mark Wilf gave the media an overview of the planned general structure of the process.
According to Wilf, the Vikings do not intend to utilize the services of “a search firm or formal consultant” but will, instead, “contract with a service that will help whittle down a list of candidates.” It’s an interesting distinction with not much clarity on what services a formal consultant would provide that the team isn’t interested in.
It appears that, without the help of a search firm or consultant, it will be Wilf “and the rest of the Wilf family” — which includes older brother and chairman/co-owner Zygi Wilf and cousin and vice chairman/co-owner Leonard Wilf — that will be making the decision. He expects that they will be advised by a “small, tight group” and that “input” will be sought from head coach Kevin O’Connell and chief operating officer Andrew Miller. There was mention of “participation from what Wilf called a ‘third party,'” as well, but it’s unclear if that was in reference to the above-mentioned service to be contracted.
Wilf relayed to the media that interviews are not expected to take place until after the 2026 NFL Draft at the end of the month. Since Adofo-Mensah’s exit, executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski has taken up the mantle of interim general manager, and he will continue to do so through the draft. Wilf told the media Brzezinski had “done an outstanding job in terms of, in the building, building consensus, strategy.”
So far, with Brzezinski in GM duties, the Vikings have allowed defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, wide receiver Jalen Nailor, and punter Ryan Wright to depart for multi-year deals in free agency. Of their potential departing free agents, the only ones the team re-signed were backup quarterback Carson Wentz, special teams ace Tavierre Thomas, and long snapper Andrew DePaola. Minnesota has brought in three external free agents, as well, in former Steelers CB3 James Pierre, punter Johnny Hekker, and quarterback Kyler Murray.
The timing of Adofo-Mensah’s dismissal caught many by surprise, leaving the Vikings without any viable candidates to replace him so late in the process. It’s forced the team to rely on Brzezinski and newly hired football administration consultant Matt Thomas during a crucial period of team-building, and now, it appears Minnesota will continue to rely on them until after another crucial team-building event takes place at the end of the month.
Fallout From Vikings’ Firing Of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
To the surprise of many, the Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday. However, the move didn’t come as a shock to Adofo-Mensah, who “was not blindsided by this,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN says. Adofo-Mensah somewhat expected to take the fall after a 9-8 season that did not include a playoff berth, though the Vikings waited almost a month to pull the trigger.
It took the Vikings 26 days after their season finale to hand Adofo-Mensah his walking papers. Owner Mark Wilf explained why on Friday, telling reporters he wanted to avoid a “knee-jerk” reaction and take a “methodical” approach (via Kevin Seifert of ESPN).
Multiple reports on Friday pointed to a tense atmosphere in Minnesota during Adofo-Mensah’s last season on the job. There may have been a rift between Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell, whom the GM hired four years ago, but Wilf claims there wasn’t disharmony in the building.
“We are in touch with everyone in the building, sensing the dynamic, how people work together. I think, again, it’s a good collaborative situation,” he said. “People get along here. Everything was good. It’s strictly a professional decision on where we think the dynamic was best going forward.”
Moving on from Adofo-Mensah was “100% ownership”-driven and about the GM’s full “body of work,” declared Wilf, who tabbed executive vice president Rob Brzezinski to lead the Vikings’ front office through the draft. Wilf said the Vikings will consider a promotion to GM for Brzezinski, but they’ll conduct a “thorough” post-draft search before naming Adofo-Mensah’s replacement.
While Wilf is leaning toward giving the next GM power over personnel decision-making, he expects O’Connell to provide “extremely heavy input.” With O’Connell considered one of the game’s top coaches, that isn’t a surprise. Although Minnesota has gone 0-2 in the playoffs under O’Connell, its .632 winning percentage since he took over in 2022 is tied for the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
Poor quarterback play, mostly from 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, undermined the Vikings’ chances in 2025. McCarthy grabbed the reins after the Vikings lost veteran signal-callers Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones in free agency last March. After carrying his 2024 Minnesota breakout to Seattle this season, Darnold is preparing for Super Bowl LX against the Patriots. Jones had an impressive season with the Colts before tearing his Achilles in early December.
It may be too early to write off the 23-year-old McCarthy. For now, though, he looks like yet another draft miss for Adofo-Mensah, who traded up a spot to pick the former Michigan starter 10th overall. McCarthy’s struggles so far are especially damning with Darnold a week away from playing for a Lombardi Trophy.
Another draft trade – the 2022 deal that delivered wide receiver Jameson Williams to NFC North rival Detroit – also looks like a black mark on Adofo-Mensah’s resume, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes. The Vikings traded the 12th and 46th picks to the Lions for Nos. 32, 34 and 66. The Lions spent the 12th pick on Williams and the 46th choice on defensive end Josh Paschal. Paschal hasn’t been a difference-maker, but Williams is fresh off his second straight 1,000-yard season. Meanwhile, the Vikings used their first pick that year on former Georgia defensive back Lewis Cine, who didn’t last long with them after fracturing his leg in his rookie season. Cine is now a member of the United Football League.
Of the 10 players Adofo-Mensah drafted in his inaugural class, only fifth-round running back Ty Chandler and sixth-round receiver Jalen Nailor are still with the Vikings. Neither has risen above role player status, and the same is true of most of the picks Adofo-Mensah made during his four-year tenure. None of his selections have made the Pro Bowl to this point.
Adofo-Mensah, a former commodities trader who never played or coached football, started off in the NFL as a manager of research and development for the 49ers in 2013. He rose up to become the Browns’ vice president of football operations from 2020-21 before the Vikings chose him to replace former GM Rick Spielman. As an analytics-based hire who didn’t come with a traditional football background, Adofo-Mensah “was never truly accepted [in Minnesota] from day one,” sources told Fowler.
Vikings Fire GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
In a stunning move, the Vikings have fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Adofo-Mensah, 44, had been the Vikings’ GM since 2022.
As part of their official statement, the Vikings said: “Following our annual end-of-season organizational meetings over the last several weeks and after careful consideration, we have decided it is in the best interest of the team to move forward with new leadership of our football operations. These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for Kwesi’s contributions and commitment to the organization over the past four years and wish him and his family the best in the future.”
Executive vice president Rob Brzezinski will take over for Adofo-Mensah on an interim basis, the team announced. Brzezinski will lead the front office through April’s draft, but the Vikings “intend to conduct a thorough search” for their next GM after that.
The Vikings’ decision to cut ties with Adofo-Mensah comes less than a year after they locked him up to a contract extension last May. The deal prevented Adofo-Mensah from entering 2025 as a lame duck, but the team will now go in another direction after finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs.
There was “tension” in the Vikings’ building leading up to Adofo-Mensah’s firing, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who hears that it had been “ugly” throughout the season. Jordan Schultz relays similar information, writing “there were relationship issues” at Vikings headquarters.
The Vikings brought in Adofo-Mensah after he divided 2013-21 between San Francisco and Cleveland. He impressed enough over two seasons as the Browns’ vice president of football operations to earn a promotion in Minnesota. With the hiring of head coach Kevin O’Connell three weeks later, Adofo-Mensah checked off his first key task atop the Vikings’ front office. The well-regarded O’Connell remains in place four years later, but he’ll pair with Brzezinski for now before potentially teaming up with a different GM.
The Adofo-Mensah/O’Connell tandem helped the Vikings to a 13-4 mark and an NFC North title in their first season together, though the team suffered a wild-card round upset against the Giants. The Vikings dropped to 7-10 in 2023, after which they allowed longtime starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to walk in free agency.
With Cousins heading to Atlanta on a massive contract worth up to $180MM over four years, the Vikings brought in veteran Sam Darnold on a one-year, $10MM pact and then used the 10th pick in the draft on former Michigan signal-caller J.J. McCarthy.
Adofo-Mensah traded up a spot for McCarthy, who went on to miss his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. That didn’t faze Minnesota, where Darnold enjoyed a long-awaited breakout campaign six years after the Jets drafted him third overall. The Vikings posted a tremendous 14-3 record en route to another playoff berth, but they once again lost in the wild-card round.
A couple months after a rough showing in a blowout against the Rams, Darnold signed with the Seahawks on a three-year, $100.5MM deal. The Vikings made a similar offer, and they also tried to re-sign veteran passer Daniel Jones after he ended 2024 in their uniform, but they struck out in both instances. Jones saw a clearer path to playing time in Indianapolis, where he went on to revive his career before tearing his Achilles in early December.
Meanwhile, a Darnold-quarterbacked team finished 14-3 for the second year in a row. The Seahawks are now preparing to face the Patriots in Super Bowl LX after Darnold’s 346-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 31-27 triumph over the Rams in the NFC title game.
After Darnold and Jones slipped through their fingers last March, a season of subpar quarterback play was likely the main culprit in the Vikings’ disappointing 2025. Adofo-Mensah’s big bet on McCarthy hasn’t paid off to this point.
McCarthy battled multiple injuries in his first year at the helm, leading him to miss seven games, and was statistically among the league’s worst QBs when healthy. Journeyman backup Carson Wentz, who was a mixed bag filling in for McCarthy early in the year, required season-ending shoulder surgery in October.
Wentz’s injury left undrafted rookie Max Brosmer as McCarthy’s backup for the rest of the year. Brosmer was dreadful over eight appearances and two starts, including a four-interception outing in a 26-0 loss to Darnold’s Seahawks in Week 13.
Shortly after the Vikings’ campaign ended, Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell indicated they’d bring in competition for McCarthy this offseason. It’s not clear how aggressive Adofo-Mensah would have been, but that decision is now out of his hands.
While the Vikings’ lackluster QB performance this season likely contributed to Adofo-Mensah’s ouster, a poor track record in the draft also didn’t help his cause. As Kevin Seifert of ESPN points out, players the Vikings drafted from 2022-25 have only made 172 starts – the second-lowest total in the league during that span. To make matters worse, Adofo-Mensah’s drafts haven’t produced any Pro Bowlers. With Adofo-Mensah suddenly out of the organization, the Vikings will hope for better results from their Brzezinski-led front office this April.