The 49ers found their next general manager on Sunday. They're turning to a future Hall of Famer to fix their sinking franchise.
As first reported by Fox's Jay Glazer, the 49ers are hiring John Lynch as general manager. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora confirmed the move, adding that Lynch will be working under Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is expected to be named the new coach of the 49ers after Super Bowl LI.
The biggest reality for 49ers is this will be Kyle Shanahan's franchise, now. New sheriff coming to town. He'll be in charge
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 30, 2017
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 49ers handed Lynch a six-year contract, which as Schefter noted is "almost unprecedented." Schefter also offered this incredible detail:
The idea to hire Lynch was his own. He personally called Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan about a week ago, and volunteered for the job.
Lynch, who attended Stanford, played safety for the Buccaneers from 1993-03 -- winning a Super Bowl with the team -- and the Broncos from 2004-07. An interesting twist here is that he was actually coached by Mike Shanahan (Kyle's dad) in Denver.
In his 15-year NFL career, Lynch snagged 26 interceptions and recorded 1,051 tackles. As one of 15 finalists, he's eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame this week.
Since retiring, he's served as an NFL analyst for Fox. So, as La Canfora pointed out, Lynch brings zero front office experience to San Francisco.
Lynch was a stellar player and is a student of the game and super sharp... but zero experience leading an NFL football ops department
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 30, 2017
Lynch's first front office job will be to fix a franchise that's gone 7-25 in the past two seasons and fired coaches in consecutive offseasons. The 49ers roster is almost entirely devoid of talent -- including at quarterback. The 49ers do, however, own the second overall pick in this year's draft. So, they'll have a chance to find a potential star this offseason.
The 49ers' next expected move is hiring Shanahan, who helped the Falcons reach this season's Super Bowl by coaching the offense to 33.8 points per game.
