It's a valid question to wonder why the Minnesota Vikings waited so long into their offseason to fire general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
But they did, according to several outlets, including Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz, who cited there was tension between the GM and Minnesota's front office after some questionable decisions an offseason ago and a frustrating 9-8 campaign in 2025.
There’s been a lot of noise over the last several weeks that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was on hot water in Minnesota and that there were relationship issues within the building, per sources.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 30, 2026
The timing may feel premature, but they ultimately made a move. https://t.co/BX17xV7YuN
Perhaps San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch can take advantage.
Adofo-Mensah originally got his pro start with the Niners way back in 2013 when he was working as the team's manager of football research and development, and Lynch ultimately elected to retain him in 2017 after taking over his own role alongside head coach Kyle Shanahan. That year, Adofo-Mensah was promoted up to a director level in the same development.
Subsequently, after serving in that stead with San Francisco from 2017 through 2019, Adofo-Mensah became the Cleveland Browns' Vice President of Football Operations in 2020 and 2021 before accepting the Vikings' general manager gig in 2022.
Now out of a job, would a return back to his original NFL employer be in play?
49ers could reunite Kwesi Adofo-Mensah with John Lynch in a front office role
The 49ers are no strangers to having their front office being plucked for talent, and Adofo-Mensah's departure after Lynch and Shanahan's first Super Bowl appearance wasn't surprising.
Currently, Shravan Ramamurthy is the Niners' manager of football research and development, but he's not at a director level, and San Francisco doesn't yet have someone in that stead within its front office.
Either way, that doesn't truly matter, as the 49ers could simply look to reunite with Adofo-Mensah in some sort of support role to Lynch if they deem it worthwhile.
Lynch's chief lieutenant, R.J. Gillen, currently serves as the assistant general manager, although his name has started to pop up in front-office interviews as of late, including the Miami Dolphins.
Should the Niners ultimately lose some more of their internal staff members, or if Lynch sees Adofo-Mensah as a valuable commodity who can aid in rethinking yet another challenging offseason of roster building, perhaps it wouldn't be shocking to see another Bay Area reunion.
This time, it'd involve an ousted GM who has spent more time with San Francisco than any other NFL franchise.