Lynch Reveals How He Hired Shanahan in 49ers GM Job originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
John Lynch transitioned from broadcaster to NFL General manager when he joined the 49ers along with head coach Kyle Shanahan seven years ago, and it all started with a phone call.
Speaking on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, Lynch detailed how he first spoke with Shanahan, the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator at the time, about San Francisco’s then-vacant general manager position.
“I heard Kyle Shanahan is going to get this job with the Niners and that’s the one he wants, but he’s struggling to find a GM he wants to work with,” Lynch told McAfee. “And then something was on my mind, I had done a bunch of Kyle’s games that year and I called him and just said, ‘Hey man, I want to thank you for all the time you’ve given me all year in these meetings. of production. I hear you’re struggling to find a GM.
“And he said ‘I am and it’s killing me, I think I’m going to take that job with the Niners’ and he said ‘Why are you asking?’ and I said ‘Consider me, I don’t even know if I would do that, but think about it.’ ”
Lynch explained that Shanahan was surprised by his call, but was so impressed that he called back offering him the GM position.
“And his first question was ‘Man, why would you do that? You have a great job, you have a great life,’ and I said, ‘Go play your games,’ and he did and then he called me back and said, ‘I can’t stop thinking about what you said to me, would you like to do this? And ‘I want you to come meet this guy, Jed [York].’
“I came and met Jed and we flew across the country to Atlanta, I was offered the job on that flight. We met with Kyle and everything is sorted, I hadn’t even spoken to my wife or family yet, it all just kind of happened so quickly.”
Given the importance of the GM-coach relationship, McAfee asked Lynch how he and Shanahan got to the same place in terms of team culture. The Pro Football Hall of Fame security detailed that there were so many connections between him, Shanahan and the San Francisco organization that everything worked out.
“Kyle and I just found out,” Lynch said. “We had a lot of similar beliefs. Kyle began his professional coaching career on defense in Tampa [Bay]working for Monte Kiffin, who I played for, for years, so we were both big believers in getting guys who could take down the quarterback.
“We try to build a culture with the right kind of people. We put a lot of effort into defining what we thought would build a championship organization and this is a place that has a long history. I was attracted to the Niners because of the history, I went to school nearby [at Sanford], Bill Walsh was my coach my senior year. And the Niners culture is special, I go through the five [Vince Lombardi] Trophies all the time.
“We’ve been to five NFC championship games, a couple of Super Bowls, but it kills me to know that we’ve come close but we haven’t broken down that wall, we need to add a sixth trophy and that’s what I’m committed to doing.”
Since assuming the top executive role in 2017, Lynch has led the 49ers’ resurgence as the team posted a 64-51 regular season record along with an 8-4 record in the playoffs. The last three seasons have been particularly successful, with San Francisco advancing to the NFC Championship Game each season.
Lynch will be tasked with maintaining the 49ers core together for one more season to make another run at the Super Bowl title. Star quarterback Brock Purdy still has a year remaining on his cheap rookie contract before he is eligible for a lucrative contract extension, likely necessitating a major roster overhaul to create the needed cap space.
