Who fills the Vikings GM job will be an ongoing mystery for a minimum of three months. Burn through all of February, March, and April. Afterwards, Minnesota will work toward filling the now vacated job.
Gone is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah . Whoever fills his shoes will be someone who gets the final call on signings, trades, and drafting players. Or, at least, that's the early preference from Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf, who was speaking on behalf of the team's ownership group at the end of last week . Check it out: "I would tell you, we do lean toward the fact to have a traditional role where the GM is the decision maker with extremely heavy input from the head coach and the coaching staff. So, we like that structure, that's how we're going to approach it going forward."
For a little while, the Vikings had a different way of doing things.
Indeed, former GM Rick Spielman shared power before becoming the one to get final say. Consider how the NFL website described the previous arrangement prior to 2012 : "Spielman was promoted from his previous role as vice president of player personnel, which he held since his hire in May 2006. He will now have final authority over all roster-related decisions, in addition to his previous duties running the scouting departments and the draft, instead of the by-committee approach to player transactions."
Oct 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings owners Mark Wilf and Zygi Wilf along with general manager Rick Spielman against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Texans 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Essentially, Minnesota's ownership group has learned from past mistakes.
The path going forward involves centralizing power in one person. Doing so allows for clarity of direction under someone who is entrusted with being a strong, decisive leader and not a dictator. Proceed with confident humility, gleaning insight from the coaching staff alongside the scouts, numbers nerds, and so on before making what will ideally be the correct decisions to compete.
Folks, that's the best path forward.
Clipping a bird's wings before there's ever a chance to fly is cruel. Put differently, disarming the incoming GM — whoever it ends up being — before allowing that GM to get the final say makes zero sense. Some risk is involved since choosing the wrong person means empowering someone who will go on to make bad decisions. In contrast, nailing the decision will mean setting up the franchise for success.
Nov 24, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings president Mark Wilf looks on before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images.
Note, as well, that the Vikings actually need to compete for talent. The obvious detail is apparent when free agency gets going, but it applies for executives, too. Some candidates would probably excuse themselves from the competition if word emerged of not getting the final call on personnel decisions.
By publicly noting the desire for a GM who makes the final call, Mark Wilf positions Minnesota for being able to compete for the top candidates.
In fairness, some of the talent has already been scooped up by teams that fired their GMs earlier in the offseason process. But, crucially, Minnesota will be in a nice position hire a promising GM when the time arrives.
The incoming decision maker is going to inherit a roster that boasts Justin Jefferson , one of the true elite talents in the NFL. Even better is that the team offers other stars: Brian O'Neill, Christian Darrisaw , Jonathan Greenard , Andrew Van Ginkel , and many others.
Inheriting Kevin O'Connell and Brian Flores should also be seen as a positive . Those coaches are better than most, ensuring a sturdy baseline of competitiveness that an incoming GM should welcome.
Dec 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) slaps hands with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell after a made field goal against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images.
The discouraging, difficult reality is that quarterback is unsettled. In time, perhaps, J.J. McCarthy will prove to be the franchise passer. After 2025, though, that's a major question mark. The good news is that the incoming hire will get the final call at who is lining up under center (after running the decision by ownership and after hearing from Coach O'Connell, of course).
Directly in front of the Vikings is getting the budget in shape — read: cuts, trades, restructures, and extensions — before jumping into free agency in March and the 2026 NFL Draft in April. Afterwards, a new GM will get hired.
