Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Minnesota Vikings
Getty
Minnesota Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
It didn’t take too long for former Vikings general manager to get a new gig in the NFL.
The four-year Vikings GM is headed to the west coast.
Former Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Signs With 49ers
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
GettyCHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 08: General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah of the Minnesota Vikings looks on prior to the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 08, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
While speaking with reporters at the NFL Combine, 49ers GM John Lynch broke the news.
The report comes from ESPN 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner on X*.*
*“#49ers*GM John Lynch says former Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is back in the fold in the personnel department. He’s already around and will get finality in terms of title, etc., after draft.”
David Lombardi of The SF Standard provided more context on the 49ers’ acquisition of Adofo-Mensah.
“The 49ers are bringing back former Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who called John Lynch right after Minnesota let him go. He’ll be a personnel executive for SF and will bring his analytics-rooted background back to the building.”
This will be his second stint with the 49ers organization. Adofo-Mensah served as their Manager of Football and Research Development from 2013 to 2016. He was then promoted to Director of Football and Research Development in 2017, and held the role until 2019.
The Cleveland Browns offered him a position as the Vice President of Football Operations in 2020. Adofo-Mensah held that role through 2021. He would then be hired by the Minnesota Vikings as General Manager in 2022.
He was relieved of that role on January 30th, 2026.
Former Minnesota Head Coach Mike Zimmer in Talks With Denver Broncos
Mike Zimmer
GettyMINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 1: Head coach Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Rams on September 1, 2016 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Rams 27-25. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
The news was broken by 9News Broncos reporter Mike Klis on social media.
“Per source, *#Broncos*visited last week with veteran coach Mike Zimmer about a senior coaching position. Nothing imminent but there is mutual interest. Zimmer has been a football coach since 1979 and started his NFL career in 1994.”
Zimmer was the Vikings’ head coach from 2014-2021, and was let go ahead of the 2022 season. The Zimmer era Vikings weren’t known for offense, but were known for their fantastic defenses. Zimmer’s most recent NFL ventures came with the Dallas Cowboys as DC in 2024.
A Broncos and Zimmer union would make sense. He has history with Denver head coach Sean Payton. Josh Alper ofPro Football Talk provided more insight.
“Zimmer was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator when Payton was their assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach from 2003-2005. Payton moved on to become the Saints‘ head coach in 2006 and Zimmer would become the Vikings’ head coach in 2014 after stints in Atlanta and Cincinnati.”
As Klis explained, no deal is currently imminent for the 69-year-old veteran coach. If a position is extended, it will likely be as a senior coaching assistant. In other words, a “right-hand man” of sorts for his old buddy Sean Payton.