The Minnesota Vikings enter a crossroads this offseason. While the quarterback position remains an important topic, the bigger discussion may not come until after the draft when the Vikings hire a general manager to replace Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The Vikings’ last two hires at the GM position have ended spectacularly. Rick Spielman didn’t talk to Mike Zimmer over his final season in Minnesota, and, while NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero has insisted that Kevin O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah didn’t have a big blow-up before Adofo-Mensah was fired last week, it’s clear that something happened with all of the reports that have come out since his dismissal.
We’ll never know if Adofo-Mensah did something truly diabolical, like put ketchup on a hot dog in the team cafeteria. But we have enough information, courtesy of Mark Wilf, to know that the new GM and Kevin O’Connell must collaborate.
That puts pressure on the Vikings to get this hire right. If they don’t, it could lead them down a slippery slope.
Minnesota isn’t going to make this hire immediately, but the seeds are being planted. Interim GM Rob Brzezinski is highly regarded in NFL circles for his work as executive vice president of football operations. Some, including agent Blake Baratz, have vouched for him to become the full-time general manager after the draft.
Brzezinski is qualified to take over the GM role, but there are some flaws. First, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that the Vikings would look for “an older-school type with a strong scouting background” and “someone rooted in traditional evaluation and personnel building.” While the salary cap background has some personnel qualities, Brzezinski hasn’t been as active in scouting, at least to the public’s knowledge.
As a result, most of the results of this offseason will be tied to O’Connell. If the Vikings find the right quarterback, O’Connell will be “The QB Whisperer” again. If they get some talent along the defensive line, it will be O’Connell and Brian Flores who made it happen. Whoever comes in will present it as a decision by O’Connell or a member of his coaching staff. (Stick a pin in this for a minute.)
The other factor is that Brzezinski has had a pretty comfortable job with the Vikings. He arrived as the director of football administration during the 1999 season and has withstood multiple regimes. While this is a common origin story for many general managers, the job is very different. The Vikings could fire Brzezinski at any moment if the team fails or he butts heads with the head coach.
The last part has become common in recent Vikings history. The Wilfs have championed collaboration in their front office structure for decades, but it’s worked as well as a Pop Warner team trying to use “The Power of Friendship” to block John Randle. Even if Brzezinski takes the job, O’Connell leads the Vikings back to the playoffs, and everything looks great in 2026, tensions could rise at any moment.
If that happens, Brzezinski could either return to his previous job or the Wilfs could make another change. After two collaborative efforts, ownership could be in the mood to try something new. In this scenario, the Wilfs could trust O’Connell more than anyone else and give him power over the personnel. However, that would send the Vikings downhill faster than Lindsey Vonn in Milan.
Some teams have had success allowing their coach to make personnel decisions. Bill Belichick did it masterfully during his time with the New England Patriots, but he could also toss out Tom Brady like a Pokémon when his decisions backfired. Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos, Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Pete Carroll, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, have also thrived in that role. However, all three of them have won Super Bowls.
There’s another side that can go wrong in a hurry, and there are several examples.
Mike Holmgren elevated the Green Bay Packers out of irrelevance in the early 1990s and led them to a Super Bowl title in 1996. Although he lost to the Broncos in 1997, he wanted the chance to build his own team from scratch and got it with the Seattle Seahawks. Holmgren didn’t fail in this role, going 86-74 and leading the team to the Super Bowl in 2005. Still, it wasn’t the same success he saw in Green Bay before they fired him following a 4-12 season in 2008.
The Philadelphia Eagles also gave Chip Kelly full control of the 53-man roster after two 10-6 seasons to begin his tenure in Philly. While it seemed like a good idea after he constructed a perennial national championship contender at Oregon, he quickly traded away quarterback Nick Foles and running back LeSean McCoy before overpaying DeMarco Murray, Byron Maxwell, and Ryan Mathews in free agency. The Eagles went 6-9, and they fired Kelly before the final game of the season.
Then there is Bill O’Brien’s tenure with the Houston Texans. After stiff-arming GM Rick Smith and his successor in 2018, the Texans promoted him to a dual role as the unofficial GM for the 2019 season. The Texans had other problems thanks to team chaplain-turned-executive VP of football operations Jack Easterby. Still, O’Brien didn’t help trading away DeAndre Hopkins and Jadeveon Clowney and angering star pass rusher J.J. Watt.
After trading multiple first-round picks for Laremy Tunsil and watching David Johnson break down, the Texans fell into the gutter with a 4-12 record in 2020 and didn’t come out of it until they hired DeMeco Ryans in 2023.
The Vikings fear becoming the Cleveland Browns or the New York Jets, so having this happen would be like Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees stopping by for dinner. While O’Connell and his staff have nailed decisions before, having them be fully responsible for all of them could stretch him too thin and backfire on the Vikings.
Adofo-Mensah’s tenure was not perfect, but he finished with a 43-25 record over four seasons. Some would say a large chunk of that success was O’Connell’s work on the field. While that is correct, it may not be the same if O’Connell is doing everything.
It’s why the Vikings must nail this general manager hire and resist any temptation to give O’Connell more control, even if this offseason is a success.
