Vikings GM Finalists: Browns' Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Chiefs' Ryan Poles to Interview Again

The Vikings' pool of eight general manager candidates, at least for now, is down to two finalists: Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles and Browns VP of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. The Vikings have requested second interviews with both, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

The #Vikings are requesting second interviews with #Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles and #Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for their GM job, per sources. As of now, those are the two finalists.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 21, 2022

Those interviews will be in person after the initial eight interviews were held virtually. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the expected schedule is Adofo-Mensah interviewing in Minnesota on Tuesday and Poles going on Wednesday.

It's a very interesting duo of finalists. Poles is a 36-year-old former BC offensive lineman who came up on the college scouting side with the Chiefs. Adofo-Mensah is a 40-year-old Princeton and Stanford grad who worked on Wall Street and got his NFL start in research and development with the 49ers before joining the Browns.

So the Vikings will be making a fascinating decision between going with a more traditional candidate (Poles) versus a slightly more unconventional route (Adofo-Mensah). Either one seems like they would be a very strong choice, given what they've already accomplished in the NFL.

Both guys are young and bright, but with VERY different backgrounds. If these two are it, Vikings will be picking one path (scouting background) or another (process-oriented background) with the hire.

History shows either can work, with good staff around the GM. https://t.co/r8L2os8ZAH
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 21, 2022

I wrote a lot about Poles yesterday, so check that out for more information on him. But don't discount Adofo-Mensah, who is extraordinarily smart and would bring an analytics-forward approach to the Vikings' front office.

Here are the bios for the two finalists:

Ryan Poles, Chiefs executive director of player personnel

Poles, 36, has been with the Chiefs for the last 13 years and is a key part of GM Brett Veach's front office. The former Boston College offensive lineman (he blocked for Matt Ryan for several years in the mid-2000s) came up on the college scouting side but his role has broadened in recent years. He was a finalist for the Panthers job last year and was also a finalist for the Giants job this year before they hired Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Browns VP of football operations

Adofo-Mensah is a 40-year-old former college basketball player who worked on Wall Street as a commodities trader prior to getting his first NFL job with the 49ers in 2013. He's been one of the top voices in the front office for Browns GM Andrew Berry over the past two years. Adofo-Mensah, who has a background in analytics, interviewed for the Panthers' GM opening last year. He's incredibly smart, with a degree in economics from Princeton and a master's from Stanford, and has an impressive NFL resume already.

Head coach connections

If Poles is hired, I'd imagine Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy and former Chiefs OC Doug Pederson would at least get interviews for the Vikings' head coaching vacancy.
If Adofo-Mensah is hired, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans could be a name he targets. Ryans is already scheduled to interview with the Vikings after this weekend's divisional round game against the Packers, and he overlapped with Adofo-Mensah in San Francisco from 2017-19.

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