The Minnesota Vikings will be conducting a second interview with Ryan Poles and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for the general manager position. Who are they, and who would be a better long-term fit with the organization?

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

Ryan Poles

Poles is currently with the Kansas City Chiefs, working as their executive director of player personnel. At 36, he would bring a different approach to a franchise that’s been in desperate need of a change. Minnesota plays an old-school style of football, prioritizing the run and playing hard-nosed defense.

However, the league is trending in an offensive direction, and being with the Chiefs, Poles has first-hand knowledge of what that looks like.

It looks like the Vikings aren’t the only who’ve had interest. The Chicago Bears interviewed Poles, and the New York Giants had interest before going in a different direction.

Poles played football at Boston College and has been around the NFL for quite some time now.

He’s played a valuable role in drafting and scouting for the Chiefs. If you can build a Super Bowl team, you’re doing something right.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Adofo-Mensah is with the Cleveland Browns, serving as the VP of Football Operations. Much like Poles, Adofo-Mensah is young (40) and looks to have a bright future in the NFL.

Before accepting a job with the Browns, he was with the San Francisco 49ers for several years. He graduated from an Ivy League school and will be a GM at some point in his professional career.

VP of Football Operations is just a fancy way of saying that he oversees some of the day-to-day operations. Despite some failings in Cleveland, you have to give them credit for what they’ve built there. It was a franchise in desperate need of winning, and they’ve assembled a talented roster.

Verdict:

You can’t go wrong with either guy here.

Both Poles and Adofo-Mensah will be the general manager of an NFL team at some point in their professional career. If I had to make a decision, I’d prefer Poles.

What he’s done with the Chiefs shouldn’t go unnoticed, and hopefully, he’s able to build a lethal team in Minnesota. If the Vikings were to hire Poles, could he potentially snag offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy from Kansas City? Potentially, and I think that’s an interesting piece to the puzzle.

According to Chad Graff of The Athletic, a decision should come later this week.