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San Francisco 49ers Make a Puzzling Choice for their Next General Manager

By Sean Bialaszek

Nov 3, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety John Lynch was honored at Halftime end inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor during the halftime of a football game against the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety John Lynch was honored at Halftime end inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor during the halftime of a football game against the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco 49ers have selected their next general manager, and it’s a pretty puzzling choice.

After another disappointing season, the San Francisco 49ers made the decision to part with much-maligned general manager Trent Baalke, as well as one-year head coach Chip Kelly. It appears now that they, officially, have replacements for both.

Fox’s Jay Glazer has reported that the 49ers are hiring NFL great John Lynch to be their next general manager. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora lated added that, along with Lynch, Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will be named the 49ers’ new head coach after the Super Bowl next weekend.

As a player, there weren’t many better than Lynch during his heyday. The Stanford product was drafted 82nd overall in the 1993 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he would spend a decade with the organization. During his tenure, he was a five-time Pro Bowler, three-time First-Team All-Pro, one-time Second-Team All-Pro, and a big part of the Bucs’ team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.

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After that, he spent four seasons with the Denver Broncos and was a Pro Bowler every season in the Mile High City. He went back to the Super Bowl again following the 2005 season, but didn’t get a ring. Prior to the 2008 season, he was signed by the New England Patriots, but was released before the season and subsequently retired.

The accolades are all there for Lynch. He is in the Ring of Honor for both the Buccaneers and the Broncos. He’s still known as one of the hardest hitters to ever play in the NFL. He’s a Hall of Fame Finalist this year.

But in his new role, that all means nothing. He has been in the announcer’s booth since 2008, and he has no experience running a team. Lynch is being handed the reins of a team that is deep into a rebuild (with no real upswing in sight), and is being given a complete vote of confidence. He wasn’t given a short-term deal to see how things go. He was given a six-year deal that says “we (we meaning Jed York, in all likelihood) have 100 percent, complete faith in you to do this job despite having no evidence that you can handle it”.

Shanahan will take over as head coach soon enough, but what kind of team will he be running? The 49ers have won just seven games over the past two seasons, including three last season, and there just isn’t enough talent on the roster to be competitive.

A great place to start in fixing this franchise would be the draft, and the biggest point in Lynch’s favor in that regard is that he isn’t Baalke. The former 49ers’ general manager has an embarrassingly abysmal track record when drafting, and Lynch has an immediate opportunity to, at least, put some talent on the roster that can help them be more competitive. Whereas Baalke was known for drafting players coming off injuries, Lynch can earn some credibility in that regard.

It won’t be easy, and the cards are not in Lynch’s favor from the beginning. He has a serious uphill climb to turn this team around, as will Shanahan, but he has been given a vote of confidence by owner Jed York.

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Unfortunately, York’s vote of confidence doesn’t mean much to a fanbase that he has consistently disappointed and lied to. Good luck, John Lynch, you’re going to need it.