The Vikings introduced new General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Thursday morning with co-owner Mark Wilf saying Adofo-Mensah had “all the traits that we spoke about when we began looking for new leadership a few weeks ago.”
He replaces Rick Spielman, who led the Vikings’ football operations for 16 years. And he comes from a decidedly different background than any GM in the NFL: a 40-year-old with economics degrees from Princeton and Stanford and eight years of experience on Wall Street before nine in the NFL, most recently as the Browns’ vice president of football operations.
“He immediately stood out to us in his interviews because of his vision of long-term success and his comprehensive information gathering and intentional decision-making processes,” Wilf said. “He’s a tremendous leader who believes in connecting people, building consensus and having strong communication throughout the organization.”
Adofo-Mensah called it a immediate fit from the moment he jumped on his first interview, describing the Vikings’ search committee as detail-oriented and process- driven. He said Browns GM Andrew Berry, his former boss, told him, “It sounds like you found your people.”
“I really do believe I was meant to be your general manager,” Adofo-Mensah said. “I think it was just meant to be.”
He said he was so energized after the first interview that his fiancee bought a Vikings hat, which she wearing Thursday, on Etsy.
Wilf said Adofo-Mensah is already involved in looking for a head coach, with the GM describing them as initial conversations. There will be meetings Thursday to discuss coaching candidates.
“We’re going to dive into this head coaching search and bring a partner for me and this organization that is going to lead us to where we want to go,” Adofo-Mensah said.
He did not any specific names of coaches Thursday.
“We know what we want to find,” he said. “We want leadership, we want somebody who is going to value the collective over the individual, we want somebody who has a vision, who can communicate, who has a solid football foundation, who understands how football is interconnected and what that means.”
The Vikings’ internal search team has interviewed eight candidates: Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Hackett, who interviewed with the Vikings over videoconferencing on Jan. 16, reportedly accepted the Broncos job on Thursday morning, according to ESPN. Quinn was a finalist for the Bears job, which is expected to go to Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
Adofo-Mensah said the coaching search will be a collaborative process.
“I’m always about different viewpoints, different ideas,” he said. “Not to be all ‘algorithms are life,’ but you find that the best decision-making engines combine information that isn’t related to each other or even the thing you’re trying to find. So what it’s really saying is you want information that covers the blind spots of the other things. That’s a core belief of mine. So any decision-making room I’m in, I’m always seeking the other opinion, trying to put everything together, then come out on the other end.”
Adofo-Mensah is also focused on meeting everyone in the organization and calling the players to get to know them and learn about the culture of the team.
“Our approach to building this roster will be intentional, thoughtful, thorough and detailed, well-planned,” he said. “We know the destination. It’s sustained success and championships for these great fans. And we know how to get there. It’s just having the willingness, the wherewithal and the confidence to make those decisions to stay on the right path.”
Adofo-Mensah acknowledged that his background was unusual, but noted similarities between Wall Street work and the NFL — “There’s a market. There are players, prices.”
“The job is about making decisions, building consensus in the building, combining different sources of information into one answer and having everybody behind it,” he said. “Along those lines, I don’t think there’s many people more qualified than I am. Just my background on Wall St., having the emotional and stability to make those decisions at a high level, be accountable to yourself and kind of learning and growing from that standpoint. That’s an education that I’ll never fully appreciate.”
He cited several people in the NFL who were influential in his path and philosophy, notably Brian Hampton, the 49ers’ vice president of football administration, and Berry, whom Adofo-Mensah referred to as “my big bro.”
It was from Berry that Adofo-Mensah adopted a key tenet of his philosophy.
“‘No stone unturned,’ that’s the standard,” he said. “That’s what we’ll live by at the Vikings, and I learned that from him.”
He also thanked his mother, who was sitting in the front row of the news conference. He cried as he explained that she was first person to teach about process over results, saying, “All I can do is work.”
“When I see problems now, I kind of get this smile of my face and I think of my mom,” he said. “I roll up my sleeves and that’s when I’m most comfortable.”
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