Awful start for Kwesi

Everyone got a little too sweaty about Jim Harbaugh. You saw the .700 record and forgot he was insane. You remembered how he turned Alex Smith into a winner and forgot that his San Francisco 49ers didn’t throw the ball. And you started wondering if the Wilfs would shell out top dollar for a coach who went 44-19-1 in the NFL while forgetting that you thought Harbaugh was just leveraging the Minnesota Vikings to shake more money out of Michigan a week ago.


It’s cool. There’s no judgment here. I’m just here to reassure you that this worked out for everyone.

The Vikings did their due diligence. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah worked with Harbaugh in San Francisco and added his name to the candidates. They did a little meet and greet over the weekend and then got down to brass tacks on Wednesday. A Vikings minority owner close to Michigan reportedly spoke up and suggested that they pass on Harbaugh. Ultimately, they did.


So, again, I ask that you relax a bit and hear me out. Things worked out for everyone here.

Minnesota isn’t resting its hopes on a millionaire who used to wear $8 khakis. They’re not welcoming a 58-year-old man who regularly has sleepovers with 18-year-old recruits into our community. They’ve chosen to close the doors of their multi-million dollar locker room to a coach who reportedly smeared a player’s blood on his face like war paint.


I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say they were justified in their decision.

Listen, I get it. You just want to see the Vikings win. Mike Zimmer’s .500 ballclub didn’t do it for you. Nobody wants to go through a rebuild. Having the No. 1 pick guarantees nothing. Minnesota could end up with Joe Burrow. But it’s just as likely to draft the next Jameis Winston or Jared Goff. You just wanted to see someone turn the Vikes into a winner through force of will, damn it.

Again, I get it. But Harbaugh could have been purple Tom Thibodeau. The guy who rides in with a winning pedigree but who wore out his welcome at his last stop. You’ll convince yourself that it’ll be different there, though. Only it isn’t, and it never was going to be. Granted, Harbaugh reportedly wasn’t seeking control of the 53-man roster, and the Vikings weren’t going to grant it to him anyway. But be honest, Harbaugh definitely gave off some Thibs vibes.

And who’s to say Justin Jefferson would have been enamored with Harbaugh? Now that we’re removed from the news, couldn’t you see him getting worn out after having another intense coach? One who wasn’t exactly enamored with the forward pass at his last NFL stop.

It’s hard to see the downsides when a winner like Harbaugh sweeps you off your feet. The mind wanders. You start thinking of Andrew Luck’s ascendance at Stanford. Alex Smith throwing for over 3,000 yards after looking like a first-overall bust. Colin Kaepernick dismantling his hometown Green Bay Packers. Michigan routing Ohio State and taking the Big Ten for the first time since 2010.

If that guy can make Stanford a relevant football school, turn a .500 Niners team into a Super Bowl team, and Michigan into Big Ten champs, what could he do with the Vikings? Could he tap into Kirk Cousins in a way no other coach ever has? Could he turn an 8-9 team into the best team in the NFC North? A Super Bowl champion?

He won’t now. And he was never guaranteed to anyways. Minnesota looks like they’re locked into Kevin O’Connell, a mid-30s offensive wiz. Isn’t that what you wanted initially, anyways? A coach who connects with his players. One who will scheme Jefferson open. The anti-Zimmer.

Don’t worry about Harbaugh. He’ll be fine. He probably just got a healthy raise from Michigan.

And, consider this, Adofo-Mensah’s willing to take a risk. Harbaugh was polarizing – until he wasn’t. Adofo-Mensah interviewed a coach his former boss fired. He willingly sat inches away from a man who apparently had a young adult’s blood on his face.

Adofo-Mensah may have stolen your heart with his million-dollar smile and talk of collaboration in his introductory press conference. But he’s got a ruthless side to him. He just asked a college coach at a premier football program to take an interview on National Signing Day.

The new Vikings regime is different. But they’re not insane, and that’s a good thing.