Vikings, Bears Play Tug of War with GM Candidate

The Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer on Black Monday, setting into motion wholesale change for the first time since 2006.

That era commenced with faces like new Brad Childress, Brad Johnson, and the aforementioned Spielman, and now the Vikings will have at least two new people at general manager and head coach. For the general manager, the race is down to two candidates — Kwesi Adofo-Mensah from the Cleveland Browns front office and Ryan Poles with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Adofo-Mensah is the Ivy league type, focused on analytics of football, whereas Poles is considered a “personnel guy” if characterizing the men in broad strokes.

If Minnesota wants Poles from Kansas City, it will have to outlast the Chicago Bears, a divisional foe, for his services. Poles reached the second wave of interviews in Chicago, too. Call it an NFC North tug of war.

The Bears recently wrapped up the Ryan Pace era at general manager, who led the front office from 2015 to 2021. Head coach Matt Nagy was terminated after four seasons — even after Nagy won the NFL Coach of the Year award in his first season (2018).

Widespread change is afoot for the two organizations, presumably with both teams racing to, once and for all, settle their quarterback question marks. The Vikings and Bears notoriously play hopscotch at the game’s most important position. Since the new millennium, the Bears have started 27 different men at the quarterback position. Minnesota is at a body count of 20 for men starting games at quarterback since 2000.

Fundamentally, if hired by the Bears, Poles would decide on the plan to develop Justin Fields, who showcased an underwhelming rookie season in 2021. The old regime traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft to snag the Ohio State passer. Although Fields has plenty of time to mature, he flat-out wasn’t very good in 2021 in a league where players like Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert impacted their teams mightily in their first year. Patience runs short.

For the Vikings, Poles would encounter another QB1 choice — Kirk Cousins or an unnamed other player. The Vikings are committed to Cousins for a $45 million cap hit in 2022, able to alleviate $35 million of that sum with a trade. No matter what — Minnesota will eat at least $10 million of Cousins’ salary next season. Poles could trade Cousins, audition Kellen Mond from Texas A&M for the future — or trade Cousins and draft “his guy” in April.

Otherwise, Poles could retain Cousins while fortifying an apt pass-protecting offensive line in Minnesota for the time in years. To date, Cousins has never experienced an at-least-average pass-protecting offensive line during four seasons in Minnesota. Still, Cousins delivers 30+ touchdown passes annually.

Poles was an offensive lineman at the collegiate level, blocking for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan at Boston College in the 2000s. In theory, he should arrive in Minnesota and Chicago and immediately build the trenches. We shall see.

A decision by the Vikings on a new general manager should occur next week, turning sights to the post-Zimmer head coach thereafter. Adofo-Mensah or Poles will make that choice,

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).