Source: Browns' Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Chiefs' Ryan Poles gain second interviews in Vikings' GM search

After interviewing eight candidates for their general manager job, the Vikings plan to meet with two of them again next week.

The team has requested second interviews with Browns Vice President of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles, a source confirmed. Adofo-Mensah is expected to interview in Minnesota for the job Tuesday, and Poles is scheduled for an in-person interview Wednesday, before the Vikings pick a candidate to succeed Rick Spielman, who was fired on Jan. 10.

Sources said this week both men were impressive in the initial round of interviews, which also included the Browns' Glenn Cook, the Eagles' Brandon Brown and Catherine Raiche, the Titans' Monti Ossenfort, the Patriots' Eliot Wolf and the Buccaneers' John Spytek.

Adofo-Mensah and Poles would bring starkly different backgrounds to the job.

Before spending seven years with the 49ers, Adofo-Mensah, 40, played basketball at Princeton, graduating from there with a degree in economics and working on Wall Street trading energy derivatives. He worked in a football research and development job for San Francisco, before the Browns hired him to join General Manager Andrew Berry's front office in 2020.

The 36-year-old Poles, who played left guard at Boston College, went from there into a graduate assistant job in the program, before spending the past 13 seasons in Kansas City's front office. He worked in the team's college scouting operation before he was promoted to assistant director of player personnel in 2018 and then to executive player personnel director last June.

Both men interviewed for the Bears general manager opening. Poles earned a second interview from the Giants, who announced Joe Schoen of the Bills front office as their new GM on Friday.

Though coach Dennis Green served as the de facto Vikings general manager from 2000-01, either Poles or Adofo-Mensah would become the first person of color in team history to have the GM title.

The Vikings plan to have their new general manager lead the search for their next head coach, but the team has continued virtual interviews with coaching candidates before the GM is in place.

Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who was a finalist for the Vikings coaching job that went to Mike Zimmer in 2014, completed an initial interview with the team on Friday.

The Vikings interviewed both Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell on Friday evening, before Los Angeles faces Tampa Bay in the NFC divisional playoffs on Sunday.