Kellen Mond hasn’t taken many snaps in the NFL, but he just delivered one of the more revealing insights into what went wrong during his time with the Minnesota Vikings - and it had nothing to do with his throwing motion.
The former third-round pick, selected 66th overall by the Vikings in the 2021 NFL Draft, opened up this week about his brief but telling stint in Minnesota. In a candid post, Mond peeled back the curtain on what he saw as a fractured organization, and he didn’t hold back when it came to calling out the leadership - specifically head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman.
“When I was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, my head coach walked out of the draft room. We never spoke.
Not once,” Mond wrote. That’s a jarring statement for any rookie quarterback to make, especially one coming in as a developmental prospect behind an established starter.
The message was clear from Day 1: he wasn’t wanted by the man running the locker room.
According to Mond, the disconnect between Zimmer and Spielman wasn’t just a behind-the-scenes issue - it was the issue. He described a front office and coaching staff so divided that the two most powerful figures in the organization weren’t even on speaking terms.
“While I played for the Vikings, I never saw the General Manager and Head Coach speak,” Mond said. “Imagine the two most important people in any organization never talking.
What happens to that business? It crumbles.
And that’s exactly what happened.”
And crumble it did. Following the 2021 season, both Zimmer and Spielman were let go as the Vikings hit the reset button. For Mond, who completed just two of three pass attempts in his lone appearance with the team, the dysfunction at the top made it nearly impossible to find his footing - not just as a quarterback, but as a young player trying to grow in the league.
Mond also shed light on the internal tug-of-war over Kirk Cousins, who was at the center of the team’s quarterback situation during that time. According to Mond, Spielman was all-in on Cousins, while Zimmer was not. That lack of alignment at the top trickled down to the rest of the roster, creating an environment where development - especially for a young QB like Mond - was an afterthought.
After his brief run in Minnesota, Mond bounced around the league, spending time with the Browns, Colts, and Saints, mostly on practice squads or offseason rosters. But it’s clear that his experience in Minnesota left a lasting impression - not just on his career, but on his understanding of what leadership should look like.
He concluded by reflecting on the importance of accountability and presence in any organization. “The way everybody handled things at that time helped me understand how much showing up and acting right can do to any organization,” he wrote.
The Vikings, for their part, have moved on under a new regime. But not everything is smooth sailing.
There are still growing pains, as seen with rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy’s early struggles to gain traction, and off-field issues like Jordan Addison’s recent arrest. Even veteran lineman Ryan Kelly’s future in the league seems uncertain.
Mond’s story is a reminder that what happens behind closed doors - in draft rooms, in offices, in conversations that never happen - can shape a team’s trajectory just as much as anything that happens on the field. For Minnesota, it’s a chapter they’ve tried to close. For Mond, it’s a lesson learned the hard way.