Vikings hire Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as new general manager
The Minnesota Vikings will name Cleveland Browns vice president of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as the team's next general manager, according to media reports.
Adofo-Mensah, 40, first entered the NFL in 2013 with the San Francisco 49ers, holding various titles, including manager for research and development, and vice president of operations. Browns GM Andrew Berry hired Adofo-Mensah in 2020.
He'll replace Rick Spielman, who was fired on Jan. 10 after 16 years with the team, including the past 10 as the team's general manager. The Vikings fired head coach Mike Zimmer the same day.
The Vikings conducted virtual interviews with eight candidates for general manager and had scheduled a second round of interviews that included Adofo-Mensah and Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, who was hired Tuesday as the new GM of the Chicago Bears. Poles accepted the Bears' job before making it to Minnesota.
Adofo-Mensah received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton and a master’s in economics from Stanford, developing a respected background in analytics.
Prior to joining the NFL, he was a day trader on Wall Street, working as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and as a vice president/executive director at Credit Suisse as a commodities trader.
In 2020, he explained how his financial background prepared him for life in the NFL, via the Browns' official website:
"I think my background was a positive because I did not have any preconceived notions or biases. When I sat in a room with great evaluators that I have been around in San Francisco, I just took everything they told me. I tried to find the intuition behind it. I ask 'why?' a lot. You will find that out about me. I wanted to know even the most simple question. You might think it is simple, but I am building the complex bridge that will get me somewhere complex.
"I will pick every person's brain. You find some amazing knowledge from everywhere in this league. I would say that is where my evaluation base comes from."
Here's Adofo-Mensah discussing the Browns' third-round draft pick, wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, to the Cleveland media following the 2021 draft.
The Browns will receive two compensatory picks for Adofo-Mensah's hiring in Minnesota, as part of the NFL’s new diversity policy, which was implemented last season.
The Vikings' next order of business will be to hire a head coach to replace Zimmer.
