The final Friday of January usually isn’t the kind of day that shakes up the NFL landscape - but this year, the Minnesota Vikings made sure it didn’t pass quietly. In a move that sent ripples through the league, the team announced they had parted ways with general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The decision itself was big. The timing?
Even more curious. Not only did the Vikings make this call months after the season ended, but they also won’t be bringing in a new GM until after April’s draft.
That’s a bold choice for a team in flux - and one that’s already navigating uncertainty at the most important position on the field.
But if you’ve been paying attention, this wasn’t a total shock. There were signs.
After head coach Kevin O’Connell received a contract extension last offseason, Adofo-Mensah’s deal didn’t follow immediately - a subtle but telling move. And while some local whispers hinted at internal tension throughout the year, Friday’s announcement confirmed that something had been brewing behind the scenes.
So how did it all unravel for Adofo-Mensah in Minnesota?
Start with the resume. When he was hired, Adofo-Mensah brought a fresh, analytics-driven approach, but he didn’t come from a traditional football background.
That lack of experience in the day-to-day grind of scouting and roster construction eventually caught up with him. His draft record didn’t inspire confidence, and the 2023 offseason plan at quarterback - the position that defines franchises - fell flat.
Some of that wasn’t entirely on him. The departures of Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones left the Vikings scrambling.
But even with those options off the board, there had to be a better contingency plan than what played out. And now, with hindsight as our guide, it’s clear the team didn’t have a strong enough safety net behind J.J.
McCarthy.
McCarthy, of course, is at the center of all this.
The Vikings traded up to No. 10 in the 2024 draft to land the former Michigan quarterback after missing out on the top-tier trio of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye. The move was a gamble - and two years in, with Bo Nix going just two picks later to Denver and showing early flashes, it’s a gamble that hasn’t paid off.
And here’s where things get even more complicated: McCarthy’s biggest supporter in the building was Adofo-Mensah. With him gone, the young quarterback suddenly finds himself without a clear champion in the front office.
O’Connell, for his part, can’t fully distance himself from the pick. If he didn’t want McCarthy, the team wouldn’t have made him their quarterback of the future.
But there’s growing chatter that the coaching staff - possibly even O’Connell himself - warned the front office that McCarthy might not be ready to start right away. And if they weren’t going to retain Darnold, they needed a more reliable backup plan.
That backup never materialized.
Now, with Adofo-Mensah out and O’Connell clearly emerging as the organizational power player, McCarthy’s future in Minnesota is anything but secure. According to league insider Daniel Rotman, there were internal disagreements about drafting McCarthy in the first place - and at one point last offseason, the Vikings even came close to trading him to the Raiders.
That deal didn’t happen, but the fact that it was even on the table speaks volumes.
So where does that leave the Vikings and their 23-year-old quarterback?
In a precarious spot. McCarthy entered the league with promise, but his development has been uneven. And now, with the executive who believed in him most no longer in the building, the possibility of a trade - or at the very least, a reduced role - feels more real than ever.
If O’Connell wants to fully reset the quarterback room, he likely has the green light to do it. That’s what winning a power struggle looks like. And if the head coach believes McCarthy isn’t the guy to lead this team forward, don’t be surprised if Minnesota starts exploring new options under center sooner rather than later.
The Vikings have long lived in the murky middle - not bad enough to bottom out, not good enough to contend. Adofo-Mensah called it a “competitive rebuild,” but it’s felt more like a team stuck in neutral. Now, with a GM search looming and the quarterback situation up in the air, Minnesota has a chance to finally pick a direction.
Whether they make the most of it? That’s the next chapter.