Moving on from Sam Darnold may haunt Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for a long time.

The Vikings fired their general manager on Friday in a stunning move, a day after he gave a press conference on the state of the team.

Adofo-Mensah controversially let Darnold leave in free agency for a three-year, $100 million deal with the Seahawks last offseason after he led the Vikings to a 14-3 record.

Minnesota Vikings former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, right, speaks with quarterback J.J. McCarthy before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis.

Darnold promptly won another 14 games with Seattle and now has the Seahawks back in the Super Bowl.
Minnesota handed the franchise over to second-year QB JJ McCarthy, who struggled with injuries and inconsistency for large stretches of the 2025 season. The Vikings finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The issues reportedly ran deeper than that that, though. Adam Schefter reported that there was “tension” around the team and it had gotten “ugly.”

Owner Mark Wilf explained the situation to reporters on Friday as “not about any one decision or move” but rather an overall look at things.

“This is a critical offseason,” he said. “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 entirety of the offseason, an additional draft, with this structure. We have an urgency to create a winning football team and establish sustainable success for our fans. At the same time we balance that urgency with all decisions thoroughly and methodically.”

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah general manager of the Minnesota Vikings looks on before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Still, the timing of the decision is bizarre after Adofo-Mensah was at the Senior Bowl last week as the leadership voice of the franchise.

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Rob Brzezinski will lead the team into April’s draft.

“Following our annual end-of-season organizational meetings over the last several weeks and after careful consideration, we have decided it is in the best interest of the team to move forward with new leadership of our football operations,” the team said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy. We are grateful for Kwesi’s contributions and commitment to the organization over the past four years and wish him and his family the best in the future.”

In his Thursday press conference, Adofo-Mensah lamented the challenging decision on Darnold. While the former Jets draft pick had led the team to the postseason, he played miserably in his final two games — an NFC North-deciding loss to the Lions and a wild-card defeat to the Rams in which the Vikings were outscored a combined 58-18.

“You spend a lot of those nights, obviously, you’re up in these decisions, and they’re uncertain,” Adofo-Mensah said.

Sam Darnold celebrates after leading the the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

“You’re trying to make sure you don’t lock yourself into what you did and thinking that it’s always right. Still understand why we did what we did. The results maybe didn’t play out the way we wanted them to, but ultimately, I think at the end of the day we could have executed in certain places.”

Darnold exorcised all his big-game demons with impressive performances against the 49ers and Rams to put the Seahawks in Super Bowl 2026 against the Patriots.

Adofo-Mensah, who previously worked for the 49ers and Browns, had held the position since 2022.