The power vacuum left behind by the firing of Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has put head coach Kevin O’Connell in a predicament.
O’Connell has more say over future roster decisions, acting as both head coach and de facto general manager, as his mentor Bill Belichick once did.
“After ownership, everything the team does moving forward begins with O’Connell. He’s going to be the one leading the most important item on the franchise’s agenda this offseason, which is how to address the quarterback position by either bringing in a high-level starter or adding competition for [J.J.] McCarthy,” Sports Illustrated’s Will Ragatz wrote last week. “He’ll have major influence on free agent signing and possible trades, especially involving players on the offensive side of the ball. And when it comes time to make draft picks in late April, it feels safe to assume O’Connell will have the final say in the war room.”
However, teams have rarely navigated firing a general manager and keeping their head coach choice in place long-term.
Adofo-Mensah took the fall for decisions made in the Vikings think tank over the past several seasons.
Now, future decisions fall primarily on O’Connell, who is next on the chopping block if the Vikings cannot correct course.
NFL History Has Not Been Kind to Overlapping GMs and Head Coaches
For continuity’s sake, NFL teams generally try to hire general managers who then select their choice as head coach.
The pending general manager-head coach overlap in Minnesota is a credit to how much the Vikings value O’Connell.
However, it rarely works out long-term.
The Tennessee Titans fired general manager Ran Carthon at the end of the 2024 season but left head coach Brian Callahan in place. Callahan started the following season 1-5 and was fired in October 2025.
The Chicago Bears also endured a torturous cycle of overlapping head coach and general manager changes through futility in the 2010s.
The Vikings are navigating uncertain times, but confidently with O’Connell at the helm. However, there needs to be a buffer for the head coach to not crater the team’s future by focusing too much on the present season.
O’Connell may not have the time horizon to look that far, considering the Vikings cleaned house after missing the playoffs in back-to-back years.
Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Led 2024 QB Search for JJ
Many Vikings misfortunes have been pinned on Adofo-Mensah — some for valid reasons and others simply to pass blame.
For those already calling McCarthy a bust by Adofo-Mensah, it was O’Connell who was at the core of the Vikings’ quarterback search that led to McCarthy in the 2024 offseason.
O’Connell organized a team of decision-makers who traveled to Michigan to spend time with McCarthy both on and off the field.
He is primarily responsible for the decision to select McCarthy, but playing the young quarterback prematurely may have been thrust on O’Connell.
The Vikings expected Daniel Jones to return and did not find a capable bridge quarterback to compete with McCarthy last offseason.
That needs to be the priority this season as the Vikings should facilitate a true QB1 battle in training camp.
Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Gets Dire Career Update After GM Firing