The 5 Takeaway Lines from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Press Conference
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings turned the page on the Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer era two weeks ago, preferring change more aligned with the modern NFL. As a result, the franchise hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Wednesday, an up-and-coming executive from the Cleveland Browns.
Adofo-Mensah held a press conference on Thursday, and these are the five takeaway lines from that event.
1. “I was meant to be your general manager.”
Of course, this quote is pulled from a greater stretch of words amid a somewhat long press conference. But this is the destiny-fulfilling bravado that should give fans warm fuzzies. He didn’t say, “I deserve this,” but Adofo-Mensah, with this quote, assured everyone he is the right guy for the job, equipped to take on the weight of the responsibility.
Consider this classy hubris.
Adofo-Mensah classifies himself as a man in cahoots with a franchise thirsty for a championship. Vikings fans are fed up with 7-9 and 8-9 seasons. If he’s truly meant to be, he and the next head coach will nudge the win total upward annually.
2. “It’s about asking why, trying to figure out what you’re doing, and sometimes that involves quantitative research, sometimes that involves just talking to people about experience, using their intuition. It varies, but at the end of the day, the core thing is learning, trying to figure out why, and then using that why’ to make better decisions with intent and just a detailed focus. So that’s really what it means to me. I can’t speak for other people when they use that word.”
Here, Adofo-Mensah describes his “analytics.” It’s not unadulterated Moneyball from the Bennett Miller film, but it does extrapolate similar principles. While he’s a “numbers guy,” he interweaves the human element — which is wildly important in management. It’s not just numbers, numbers, and more numbers for the 40-year-old.
3. “We want leadership. We want somebody who’s going to value the collective over the individual.”
This was Adofo-Mensah’s reply to what characteristics he desires for the soon-to-be head coach. This is insightful because he did not emphasize “offensive guy” or “defensive guy,” terms used by the masses in either-or format during this head coach search.
The Vikings leadership wants a skipper to lead men, collaborate, and foster a Tomlinesque locker room. As the field is reportedly narrowed down to Todd Bowles (Buccaneers), Jonathan Gannon (Eagles), Raheem Morris (Rams), Kevin O’Connell (Rams), and DeMeco Ryans (49ers), Adofo-Mensah will hire the best team guy, presumably one that uplifts harmony and camaraderie.
4. “You wanna be explosive on offense and you wanna limit explosives on defense. It’s really not more difficult than that.”
Vikings loyalists rejoiced when hearing this roll off the tongue. The organization has playmakers to take the top of defenses, but in 2021, the offense did so sparingly — probably why it failed to reach the postseason.
The defense is a different animal, at least per the roster in January. Several men will exit after expiring one-year deals. Adofo-Mensah must build a defense in need of EDGE rushers, a linebacker, and likely a couple of cornerbacks. And if that defense avoids ranking third-worst in the NFL per yards allowed (that happened in 2021), life will be easier pursuing the win column.
5. “There is so much to appreciate about this organization — an existing nucleus of talent on the roster, top-notch facilities, passionate fans and smart people throughout the building who are committed to winning.”
One word here to extract — nucleus.
If the Vikings were staring down a full rebuild, Adofo-Mensah would say nothing of a roster nucleus. Instead, he went out of his way to mention the word, implying Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw, Brian O’Neill — and maybe even Danielle Hunter and Kirk Cousins — are men to keep for roster-building.
The Wilfs want to be competitive in 2022. The new bossman mentioning an “existing nucleus” suggests he plans to refrain from blowing the thing up.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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