Vikings fire GM, Twins executive departs. What's up with Minnesota sports?

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Friday saw major shakeups for Minnesota sports teams.
The Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adolfo Mensah and Twins saw the departure of executive Derek Falvey.
To talk about what this means for two of the state’s biggest sports franchises, Ten Thousand Takes host Wally Langfellow joined Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition Monday.
The timing of Mensah’s departure, almost a month after the season ended, surprised Langfellow.
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“Normally, when you make these changes, it’s within a few days after the season ends,” he said. “I think it points a lot, obviously, to the fact that Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks are in the Super Bowl, and the Minnesota Vikings and JJ McCarthy are not even a playoff team this year.”
The NFL Draft is coming up in April. It’s a wait-and-see as to who takes the helm of the Vikings and how they might change the lineup.
Regarding the Twins, “You could make the argument that the Pohlads really have never been individually invested as big Twins — they’re owners. They weren’t necessarily the Jerry-Jones-Dallas-Cowboys type of owner,” Langfellow said. “I think Tom Pohlad is a little bit different. And I do believe that the vision of Tom Pohlad and the vision of Derek Falvey, beginning with this season, clashed.”
Listen to the conversation by clicking the player button above.
