Report: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah emerges as favorite for Vikings GM

GM candidate Kwesi Adofo-Mensah spotted leaving Vikings facilities after interviews

Adofo-Mensah is in the Twin Cities on Tuesday to hold his second interview with the Vikings at TCO Performance Center.

MINNEAPOLIS - It appears the Minnesota Vikings are closing in on their candidate to replace Rick Spielman as the head of the front office.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is the favorite to become the new Vikings’ general manager. The Vikings' ownership group fired Spielman on Jan. 10, after an 8-9 season, missing the NFC Playoffs for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons.

Report: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah emerges as favorite for Vikings GM

It appears the Minnesota Vikings are closing in on a favorite to replace Rick Spielman in the front office.

Adofo-Mensah and Ryan Poles emerged as the two finalists for the GM position after the Vikings held initial interviews with eight candidates in the last week. But Poles opted to lead the front office of one the Vikings' NFC North rivals instead. The Chicago Bears announced Tuesday night they're hiring Poles as their next general manager. Poles was scheduled to interview with the Vikings on Wednesday.

Adofo-Mensah is in the Twin Cities on Tuesday to hold his second interview with the Vikings at TCO Performance Center. Fox 9 Sports Reporter Dawn Mitchell captured video of Adofo-Mensah leaving the building and getting into a private SUV early Tuesday evening.

Adofo-Mensah, 40, is currently the vice president of football operations for the Cleveland Browns. He started his NFL career in 2013 with the San Francisco 49ers and spent seven years there in football research and development before moving to the Browns' front office.

Adofo-Mensah was in the business world before the NFL, working as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and was vice president/executive director at Credit Suisse as a commodities' trader. He earned an undergraduate degree in economics while playing basketball at Princeton, and earned a master's degree at Stanford.

Adofo-Mensah was a finalist for the GM position with the Carolina Panthers in 2021, and also interviewed this cycle with the Bears, where Poles is reportedly taking over.

Vikings' Owner and President Mark Wilf said in the aftermath of the season that the next general manager will have input on the team's next head coach. The Vikings have held initial interviews with eight candidates to replace Mike Zimmer. The next general manager will also have key roster decisions to make for the 2022 season, most notably Kirk Cousins, who is under contract to make $45 million guaranteed in 2022.