I enthusiastically support the extension for Vikings general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah. Since this view carries as much sway as the vote on what to have for dinner in my own house, a deeper examination is warranted.
I’m aware this viewpoint welcomes some pushback, as the lively thread on the DN article announcing the extension can attest.
Just the Facts, Ma’am:
Since taking over in 2022, KAM has overseen a franchise that has compiled a 34-17 regular-season record. This ranks 7th out of the 32 NFL teams. The Vikings’ prior 3-year total was 25-24, tied for 15th. Just 34% of teams have made the playoffs 2 out of the past 3 years – the Minnesota Vikings are one of them. Of course, we know those results: 0-2. The team made the playoffs once in the previous 3 years (’19-’21), going 1-1.
Context and nuance matter, so let’s break it all down into key areas.
Team Culture:
An absolute home run. The final years of the Rick Spielman era were defined by a palpable…umm….frosty relationship with head coach Mike Zimmer, which cast an enormous cloud over the entire organization. Perhaps that’s too kind – they hated each other, at least towards the end. What most expected was later confirmed and laid bare after the fact. Heck, even Zimmer’s significant other got in on the act. This was on top of his anachronistic coaching style right out of the mid-70s, which only works when the wins come regularly. As soon as they didn’t, the cracks became cavernous. Heck, the criticism even roped in longtime athletic trainer Eric Sugarman (what?). Yeah, the entire scene was not ideal. In hindsight, an implosion of magnificent fashion was inevitable.
KAM comes in and immediately turns the frown upside down. Press conferences with coaches and players immediately revealed a collective sense of relief, like the Sun finally peeking through after a Category 5 hurricane:
“When you can wake up before your alarm goes off and get excited to go and get ready for practice, that’s not a very common thing to happen.” – Adam Thielen
“Players wake up, and they want to come to work. They’re not worried too much. They just wake up and want to play football. That’s the main thing. Young guys are eager to learn. Older guys are able to teach the younger guys. It’s a good overall atmosphere.” – Danielle Hunter
“That’s really what Kevin [O’Connell] is preaching. It’s ‘our.’ We’re in it together. And we’ve got to be about team.” – Kirk Cousins
This culture shift has been reflected in the annual NFLPA Report Card of NFL franchises, where the Vikings ranked #1 (2023), #2 (2024), and #2 (2025). In the latest survey, the Vikings received an A- or better in 10 of 11 categories, and an A+ in the following 4: treatment of families, locker room, head coach, and ownership. Indeed, the Wilfs deserve an enormous amount of credit. In my opinion, they’re not only among the best owners in the NFL, but in all professional sports. By all accounts, they hire football people, step back, and allow them to rise or fall on their own. In this regard, KAM has excelled.
GRADE: A+
Coaching Staff:
I touched up this in my previous article, so no need to rehash it here. KAM adeptly navigated the Jim Harbaugh drama to hire KOC. Excuse me, reigning AP NFL Coach of the Year KOC. My apologies. I’d say a good 80…nah…90% of new GMs in KAM’s position take the safe route and ink Harbaugh. KOC was no sure thing at all. There were some questions. The NFL landscape is littered with hotshot offensive coordinators who quickly flamed out once they got into the big chair. Let’s just say this one worked out, shall we?
Brian Flores enters Year 3 as defensive coordinator, and, yeah, I’m a huge fan of Brian Flores. I can spend 1,500+ words singing his praises and how I have sky-high expectations for 2025. Oh, I already did that.
Back in early January, one of my favorite analysts, Bucky Brooks, wrote an article on the Top 5 coaching staffs in the NFL. Mind you, this was prior to the playoffs and before it was known if any coordinators would be moving on. He had the Vikings at #2, which even surprised me a bit (I did expect them on the list, however). Just behind the Chiefs and ahead of the Lions, Eagles, and some team whose fans look like idiots wearing cheese on their heads. This speaks to how highly regarded the staff KAM has put together is seen in NFL circles – and how its reputation continues to grow. Before last year’s 14-3 campaign, Ben Solak at ESPN had the Vikings coaching staff ranked #10. Of course, this was coming off a ridiculously injury-riddled 7-10 season that wasn’t indicative of the team we had.
If there was one glaring misstep, it was the hiring of Ed Donatell as defensive coordinator in 2022. Listen, Donatell was/is a good coach; you don’t spend nearly 35 years in the NFL without knowing what the heck you’re doing. That season just seemed like a perfect storm of a mismatched defensive philosophy coupled with a talent deficit in key areas (particularly in the secondary). A risk-averse scheme was a recipe for disaster (Daniel Jones’s bank would disagree). We’ll never know how the playoffs would have gone had we hired Brian Flores. He was available, but instead landed the job of senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2 days after the Vikings hired Donatell).
It also should be noted that the Vikings lost wunderkind offensive assistant Grant Udinski to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive coordinator. So that bears watching.
GRADE: A
The Draft:
Ahhh, this is where things get dicey. Imagine if the Hindenburg crashed into the Titanic. Then imagine a disaster 10,000 times worse than that. Think of something else horrible. You’d then begin to approach the Vikings’ 2022 draft. Yes, KAMDetroit Lions (bad enough), then made another 12 moves or something to end up with strong values in Ty Chandler (5th/No. 169) and Jalen Nailor (6th/No. 191). That’s it. There’s nothing left to say that hasn’t been said regarding the Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, Jr., and Ed Ingram selections. Third-rounder Brian Asamoah has played only 188 snaps on defense in 3 seasons but has been a solid special-teams contributor. Rounds 1-3 are really where the rubber hits the road; you must nail those at a healthy clip. 0-4. If you wanted to grade it on a curve, I suppose you could toss in the November trade for T.J. Hockenson. The cost was high (2023 2nd rounder and 2024 3rd rounder), but Hockenson has been great. The worst part of the 2022 draft, though? It made me agree with Pete Prisco. Last month, he revised his grades from the 2022 draft. The Vikings? From a C to an emphatic F. Yuck.
The good news? Nowhere to go but up. Lesson learned for 2023. Jordan Addison (1st/No. 23) has been as advertised: 133 receptions, 1,786 receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns over 2 seasons. Flashed legit WR #1 abilities during Justin Jefferson’s absence. Before his injury, Mekhi Blackmon’s (3rd/No. 102) 71.8 coverage grade led him to be named to PFF’s All-Breakout Team last summer. Big things are expected. Jay Ward (4th/No. 134) remains in the mix as a depth contributor. Jaquelin Roy (5th/No. 141), Jaren Hall (5th/No. 164), and DeWayne McBride (7th/No. 222) are no longer on the roster. Not ideal, but compared to 2022, this looks like the QB classes of 1983 and 2004 rolled into one.
I’m already on record at the DN about being optimistic regarding the 2025 draft class. My thoughts can be found here. Feel free to take a look.
Well, that’s a wrap. In closing…
Oh, wait. Did I skip one?
The 2024 draft will largely determine KAM’s (and KOC’s) legacy. We all know J.J. McCarthy is our Patrick Mahomes. It’s destiny. But in the .0000001% chance he’s not, well, the rest of this discussion is largely meaningless.* We become the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Kenny Pickett disaster – i.e., a playoff-caliber roster looking (and failing) to find answers via the veteran Band-Aid route. Too good to get a high draft pick, but too bad to make any serious noise in January. Meanwhile, key players age out of their primes, you’re in a salary cap mess, and the whole situation crumbles. And, yes, I fully expect the Aaron Rodgers experiment to go over about as well as New Coke or Cheetos Lip Balm.
*“Breaking News: We interrupt this DN article to bring you the following update. What’s that? Is that so? We have just been informed and have indeed confirmed that Colin Cowherd is a clown.”
In the case of Dallas Turner, we could theoretically survive a disappointment, but it would eat up future draft capital and force us once again to seek costly answers in free agency. Again, not concerned because, you know, he’s the next Lawrence Taylor.
GRADE (current): C- (which could end up falling anywhere between an A+ to a D-)
The Salary Cap:
KAM took over in January 2022 with the team over the cap by approximately $15 million. Kirk Cousins’ hit alone was set to be $45 million, nearly 22% of the overall salary cap. Danielle Hunter’s $18 million roster bonus was due shortly after the start of the league year. Key starters in 2021, such as Eric Kendricks, Anthony Barr, and Adam Thielen, were at or over 30 years old. In two years, KAM adeptly maintained competitiveness while freeing up approximately $38 million ahead of the 2024 free agency period, which, in turn, welcomed the greatest class ever. I mentioned this previously, but it’s so amazing that it bears repeating: KAM brought in Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, Andrew Van Ginkel, Aaron Jones, Sam Darnold, Shaquill Griffin, Stephon Gilmore, and Jihad Ward for a combined total of $148.6 million, including $90.6 million guaranteed. That’s $31.4 million and $9.4 million less, respectively, than the Kirk Cousins deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Now you add a cumulative $208 million and nearly $119 million guaranteed this offseason, and, unsurprisingly, the Vikings are $50 million over the 2026 cap. The deficit also reflects successfully keeping in-house talent long-term. Christian Darrisaw’s cap hit goes from $9.7 million to $23.1 million, for example.
In the end, that figure looks scarier than the reality, but some significant moves will need to be made. This could likely look like a combination of extensions (Brian O’Neill), restructures (Justin Jefferson), and, yes, some pivotal veteran cuts with little to no dead cap (Harrison Phillips, Ryan Kelly). A considerable chunk of the $22 million in remaining 2025 cap space could also be rolled over to further alleviate some of the financial pressure. I wouldn’t be shocked if some veteran insurance at cornerback was brought in. As stated, I’m a huge fan of Shaquill Griffin. There’s been some noise about Jalen Ramsey. Jaire Alexander was also just released. Ugh. Not sure I can convince myself to embrace that.
KAM has brilliantly walked the tightrope between playing moneyball and signing older vets at market value to address pressing roster holes. The method of doing so has been prioritizing short-term contracts that maximize flexibility. While the jury is still out on the 2025 free agent class, it’s hard not to look at the record so far and find much fault in this strategy. KAM signed several analytical/schematically sound starters to manageable deals just as they were entering or in their primes: Harrison Phillips (5th year, ‘22), Byron Murphy Jr. (5th year, ‘23), Jonathan Greenard (5th year, ’24), Blake Cashman (6th year, ’24), and Andrew Van Ginkel (6th year, ’24). Indeed, Phillips, Murphy, and Van Ginkel already played themselves into extensions; there’s no evidence the others aren’t on their way to doing the same. The addition of older vets such as Patrick Peterson, Za’Darius Smith, Jordan Hicks, Shaquill Griffin, Aaron Jones, and Stephon Gilmore all met or exceeded age-sensitive expectations in starting roles. Of course, there were missteps. Chandon Sullivan and Marcus Davenport immediately come to mind. Both were expected to see considerable snaps and meet significant needs. Even so, the salary cap damage was minimal.
The year’s free agent class deviated from the past strategy a bit. Entering his 5th year, the Vikings made Will Fries a Top 5 paid guard ($44 million guaranteed/$17.5 million AAV). The deals for Jonathan Allen (Year 9/$31.2 million guaranteed) and Javon Hargrave (Year 10/$19 million guaranteed) are larger commitments to older vets than in prior years. For example, the Za’Darius Smith deal from 2022 appeared considerable on paper (3 years/$42 million), but it was only $11.5 million guaranteed. The Ryan Kelly deal (Year 10/$9.25 million guaranteed) fell more in line with traditional contracts to date. A Josh Metellus extension is also in the works, but it will be a tough negotiation (h/t Warren Ludford). With the loss of Cam Bynum, Harrison Smith’s impending retirement, and not addressing it in the draft, the Vikings can ill afford to let Metellus walk out the door.
2026 will be a challenge. Not only are the Vikings dead last (32 of 32) in available cap space at – $50 million, they’re more than double the next worst team (the Chiefs at – $24.6 million). Heck, we’re even $31 million more over the projected cap than the perpetually cash-strapped New Orleans Saints. As noted, there are options at KAM’s disposal. On the panic scale, I’m at a 4 out of 10 right now. However, if a few unexpected events in an undesirable direction occur – e.g., performance drop-offs, injuries, etc. – it could rise quickly. There is no scenario where I envision the Vikings being an active free-agent participant next March. The salary cap math is prohibitive.
GRADE: B+
Conclusion:
Year 4 for a general manager is a sweet spot for success. Off the field, an ideal culture is firmly established. On the field, scheme intricacies are ingrained in every facet of the team’s DNA. Synergy in vision with the head coach welcomes an optimized roster. Check. Check. Check.
The fans have spoken, with an overwhelming 48% already excited for the start of the Vikings’ 2025 season. Before training camp. Before the preseason. The calendar just turned to June. Indeed, I’m probably the most excited I’ve been since 2018 when Kirk Cousins came aboard as the missing piece for Super Bowl glory. Yeah, whatever. This time it does feel different, though. It’s not driven by the usual reflexive biases. I can’t find my purple-colored glasses anywhere. The optimism isn’t tempered. It feels unique, unfettered, and genuine.
No one is more responsible for these positive vibes than Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah.
OVERALL GRADE: A-
Poll
How Would You Grade the Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah Era So Far:
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Vastly Exceeding All Expectations, Which Were Already High (A+ to A range)
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Excellent, with a Few Minor Hiccups (A-/B+ range)
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Very Good, Far More Positive than Negative (B range)
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Good, Above Average in Most Areas (B-/C+ range)
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Average, Equal Parts Good and Bad (C range)
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Below Average, More Bad than Good (C- range)
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Disappointing, Far More Bad than Good (D range)
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0 votes total
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