One Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Myth Dies Hard
Seemingly out of the blue — the timing felt about three weeks late — the Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last Friday, ending a four-year run that brought the NFL’s fifth-best win percentage since the start of 2022. And while many reports and rumors have swirled about why Adofo-Mensah left the franchise, bad blood with head coach Kevin O’Connell is not accurate, say NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero.
Minnesota’s power dynamics are being misinterpreted as personal beef.
Pelissero set the record straight on Tuesday, explaining that Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell are friends, and that Adofo-Mensah’s termination came from the Vikings’ ownership group’s determination.
The Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell Rift Theory Is False
No ill will between Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell.
Pelissero on Adofo-Mensah
Pelissero joined The Rich Eisen Show this week, setting straight some false narratives.
He told Eisen, “I’ve seen other complete nonsense out there this week that they were getting ready to trade J.J. McCarthy, and Kwesi pulled the plug, that there was a toxic environment between Kwesi and Kevin. None of that is true, and I can tell you that, objectively speaking, as somebody who is pretty wired into the NFL, and specifically wired into the workings of the Minnesota Vikings, Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are friends. They never had a personal issue.”
“There were things they did not see eye to eye on. They had disagreements. Certainly, the way that things played out at the quarterback position was not ideal for anyone. Would love to go back in time and have the foresight to know that Sam Darnold is going to play like a Top 10 quarterback and go to the Super Bowl this year. Of course, you keep that guy. But really, when it came down to the firing of Kwesi, it was a lot of different things.”
Until the appearance, many speculated that Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s relationship had tumbled in the last few months. Untrue.
An O’Connell “Power Play” Overblown
Because Adofo-Mensah got fired and O’Connell remained, some have whispered that O’Connell may have pulled the strings in the backdrop to usurp more power. The theory suggests that the men didn’t see eye to eye, and because the Vikings evidently value O’Connell more than Adofo-Mensah, the general manager was subtracted, and the head coach was not.
The Pelissero comments walk that rumor back, claiming the Wilfs made a business decision and there was no grudge between Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell.
In fact, less than a year ago, the duo was taking pictures like this:
Not much hostility in the picture.
Some have even suggested that Adofo-Mensah’s two-week-long paternity leave alienated his NFL peers and perhaps coworkers, so there has been no shortage of gossip regarding his exit.
Discrepancy over McCarthy Draft Pick
Listen, Adofo-Mensah would still have his job if J.J. McCarthy were trending in the right direction, perhaps with two years’ worth of starts under his belt. Instead, McCarthy has played in just 30% of all eligible games, and in his first season as a starter, he ranked dead last in the sport per EPA+CPOE.
And as McCarthy is trending in the wrong direction, mainly because of the injury concerns, it’s easy to assign Adofo-Mensah sole blame for the draft pick. Over the weekend, in the wake of Adofo-Mensah’s termination, it seemed like everything the Vikings did poorly over the last four years happened because of Adofo-Mensah, whereas all the good stuff was an O’Connell masterclass.
But don’t pretend that O’Connell was force-fed McCarthy. After the New England Patriots wouldn’t sell the third overall pick in 2024 (Drake Maye), the Vikings were left with McCarthy or Bo Nix. Minnesota chose McCarthy. The McCarthy pick is very much O’Connell’s doing. It’s lazy to “blame Kwesi” after the fact and downright unfair.
It’s Put Up or Shut Up for O’Connell
O’Connell is positioned to carry more influence over the roster than at any point in his tenure, and that authority comes with a sharper timeline. The grace has vanished for O’Connell. It’s time to win.
Picture a 2026 season built largely in the image of O’Connell and Brian Flores. New additions, a quarterback plan centered on McCarthy or surer-bet QB1, and complete buy-in from the top. If that season bottoms out at six or seven wins because the quarterback bet fails, the outcome won’t be framed as bad luck.
The Wilfs don’t typically let inertia guide decisions, and a losing season under that setup would drag the head coach directly into the conversation. Year No. 5 has arrived fast, and there’s little historical patience for a coach sitting on zero playoff wins that deep into a tenure.
O’Connell doesn’t need messaging or context anymore. He needs January football and probably a win once he gets there. Without that, the seat heats up quickly, no matter how much control he holds.
Don’t buy into any story that claims Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell became bitter enemies. The Wilfs simply made a business decision. It happens.
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