Media Credits Hiring Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

The stage was set Thursday morning at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.

And shortly after the Vikings introduced Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their new general manager, the move received plenty of kudos from Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan.

Souhan opined that while Adofo-Mensah might not have a traditional NFL background, the organization should be praised for thinking outside the box.

Adofo-Mensah is as nontraditional as any general manager in NFL history. That makes hiring him risky. The Wilfs should be applauded for taking this risk.

They could have played it safe, promoting from within or hiring someone with a deeper résumé and more recognizable name.

Instead, they proved open-minded enough to hire a former walk-on college [junior varsity] basketball player who worked on Wall Street and planned to become an economics professor before venturing into football.

Adofo-Mensah will be judged on performance and will be subject to the same criticism as any other Vikings general manager. Before the second-guessing and recriminations begin, let’s celebrate this day in Vikings history, and thank the Wilfs.

Adofo-Mensah is the first Black man to hold the sole title of general manager in team history. Former Vikings Head Coach Dennis Green also had that power for part of his time in Minnesota, but it wasn’t his sole responsibility.