If there was ever a question of who’s running the show for the Minnesota Vikings on the personnel side of things, look no further than newly-hired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
All you need to do is take one look at the head coach candidates chosen for a second round of interviews to see where things are headed.
Just follow the breadcrumbs.
Three of the four remaining candidates had a working relationship with Adofo-Mensah during his time working in San Francisco as the manager and eventually director of football research and development. So at least 75 percent of the names being called back for interviews are candidates that are very familiar to the Vikings GM.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was finishing out the last two remaining years of his time in San Francisco when Adofo-Mensah first arrived. That was obviously around the time when the honeymoon period between Harbaugh and the 49ers was starting to wear off.
But he obviously had a good relationship with Adofo-Mensah, and there was quite a bit of respect gained from his ability to take a 6-10 team to an NFC Championship and Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons.
Along with Harbaugh, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, were also in San Francisco during Adofo-Mensah’s rise through the front office ranks.
So Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf are clearly letting their general manager lead the show. Their willingness to do so was one of the reasons why I pegged the Vikings as the best situation for any incoming GM and coach.
Of course, Adofo-Mensah maintains the belief that it’ll be a collaborative process. He’s tackling things with an open-minded approach by working in unison with everyone around him to try and make the best decisions possible.
“Whether I say I make the decision or not, it’s going to be a collaborative process. I’m always about different viewpoints, different ideas,” Adofo-Mensah said at his introductory press conference. “Not to be all algorithms or life, but you find that the best decision-making engines combine information that isn’t related to each other but related to the thing you’re trying to find. …That’s a core belief of mine, and so any decision-making room I’m in, I’m always seeking the other opinion and trying to put everything together and then come out on the other end.”
Some have criticized the Vikings for allowing the previous regime to stay in power for as long as they did. Rick Spielman served as GM for a decade, while Mike Zimmer was head coach for eight years.
However, a positive takeaway is the fact that ownership in Minnesota isn’t influenced by knee-jerk reactions. There’s more of a likelihood that Adofo-Mensah and the future head coach will have the ability to instill a plan and see it through without constantly looking over their shoulders.
Some NFL teams replace head coaches and GMs as quickly as players these days.
Raheem Morris being named as the fourth finalist for the vacant head coaching job shows a willingness from Adofo-Mensah to look outside of the box. Even though Morris isn’t someone he’s had a previous working relationship with in the NFL, he’s clearly a worthy candidate with a lot of experience in the coaching realm.
He’s also the only candidate, aside from Harbaugh, that’s actually served as an NFL head coach before.
Everyone within the Vikings organization are clearly working in unison to find the right man for the job, but there’s no longer any questioning Adofo-Mensah’s influence over the team. His fingerprints are all over this head coaching search, and they should continue to be on everything else as well.
