When the Minnesota Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, they were taking a gamble on an inexperienced executive to serve as their general manager. As a result, there were aspects of the job he would have to learn through experience.
Nonetheless, on Jan. 30, after four seasons on the job, Minnesota Adofo-Mensah. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported, citing sources, that tensions had been simmering within the Vikings organization throughout the year. Schefter added that the situation inside Minnesota had reportedly become “ugly,” according to a league source.
Although Adofo-Mensah can take most of the blame for the lack of success during his tenure, Mad Dog Sports Radio’s Jared Stillman went after Vikings ownership for hiring an inexperienced general manager and then being surprised when he made mistakes that someone with no experience in that role would make.
“I think it is so absurd that, again, if it is what it looks like, and it is that Minnesota fired their general manager because their owner got mad that Sam Darnold is in the Super Bowl, which happens far more often than you think,” Stillman said in a video posted by Mad Dog Sports Radio on Jan. 31. “Well, to me, that tells me that the problem isn’t necessarily the general manager.
“The problem is an owner who hired an inexperienced general manager who made a mistake that an inexperienced general manager would make because that general manager has not made the mistakes in the past to gain the experience and the knowledge to not do those things again.
Mark Wilf Explains Reason for Firing GM
After the firing was announced on Jan. 30, Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf explained the decision to part ways with Adofo-Mensah and move in a different direction.
“We held our end-of-the-season organizational meetings over a couple of weeks and then spent this past week as an ownership group reviewing, discussing, and how best to move forward,” Wilf told reporters at his press conference. “This is a critical offseason. Ultimately, we felt the change was necessary in football operations, and did not feel comfortable going forward into this offseason with the current leadership.
“It’s not about any one decision or move. We looked at the situation cumulatively; we just didn’t feel confident going through the the offseason, an additional draft, and free agency with this structure. We have an urgency to create a winning football team and establish sustainable success for our fans.”
Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy Receives Criticism
Moreover, sports media host Jim Rome didn’t hold back on the reasons for the firing of Adofo-Mensah. However, he put most of the blame on starting QB J.J. McCarthy, whom the former Vikings general manager selected as the team’s franchise signal-caller.
“The truth is, [McCarthy] in and of himself did not get his GM fired,” Rome said on the Jan. 30 edition of “The Jim Rome Show.” “He didn’t do it alone. Now, he had help, and he had something to do with it, but he had help. Sam Darnold helped. Daniel Jones‘ amazing start to the season helped. Aaron Rodgers leading the Steelers to the playoffs helped.
“So it’s not all on J.J., but it’s mostly on J.J. because the biggest problem facing the Vikings right now is that they still have an uncertain future at quarterback. They had all these quarterbacks go through there, and they still have no quarterback. And the rumors this week about bringing in Mac Jones clearly did not set ownership’s hair on fire or help J.J. They’re not even positive what they have in ‘Nine‘ because ‘Nine‘ can’t even stay on the field.”
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