The 49ers new front office structure

I panicked as soon as I heard that Lynch was the new GM, a guy with no scouting or executive background but based on what is being reported, the 49ers appear to be copying the Denver Broncos model for a front office. The same way that John Elway is the frontman for the organization but has others doing the bulk of the personnel work it sounds like Lynch will be the front man but will be having others doing much of the personnel duties. His role almost sounds like the Vice President of Football Operations position that people have long been hoping that this franchise would get. In that role, Lynch starts to make a bit more sense.


The way Denver has their front office setup

John Elway- Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager
Matt Russell-Director of Player Personnel
Mike Sullivan-Director of Football Administration


With the 49ers it sounds like it will be:

John Lynch-GM
?????(Mark Dominik?) as Head of Player Personnel
Tom Gamble as Head of Pro Personnel
Marathe handling contracts + the salary cap.




Definitely an unorthodox setup but at least I can see some of the logic in it. I guess it depends entirely on how you feel about Dominik or whoever Lynch brings in to handle the bulk of the personnel duties. I can see Lynch being the representative of the team at press conferences, meeting with free agents, handling other public appearances while most of the personnel work is done by the people under him and Marathe maintains his current role of salary cap plus contracts.


You would also have a lot of symmetry if its Dominik. Lynch played with the Bucs while Dominik was in the Tampa front office. Lynch played under Mike Shanahan and is said to be extremely close to the Shanahans, he supposedly called up Kyle and offered to be his GM. Kyle was in Tampa while Dominik was in the front office as well so at least at first glance there shouldn't be any major tension between the front office and the coaching staff, things should work pretty smoothly.


Its an interesting approach, either Jed and Marathe will look like geniuses or this franchise will be an even bigger disaster.

The 49ers front office structure

Originally posted by smithgdwg:
The 49ers front office structure

I don't think its that bad. Dominik was a possible candidate for the 49ers as GM. I was pretty meh on him but now you basically get both Lynch and Dominik. Lynch is reportedly a pretty smart dude who was on some winning teams in the NFL, played under Bill Walsh, if he can be a strong leader and keep things together, this crazy setup might just work out.

At first when I heard the news I was like "WTF?" but now that I've taken a few deep breaths, it sounds more feasible if you think of Lynch as just the guy who bundles people and acts as a face for the organization. If he can put good people all around him in the front office, this might even work out.

Cue the optimism!

Originally posted by Giants9ersfan:

Cue the optimism!

Greatest thing ever. LOL.

I'm very skeptical about this whole thing. Jed hasn't gotten much right and needs this to work. I'll hold off judgement and see how it all shakes out. If it works out like the Broncos, that's all good. If not, Jed is gonna be crucified.

Originally posted by Giants9ersfan:
Cue the optimism!

Not really optimism just seeing the logic in it. Lynch's title will be GM but he'll be more of the head of football operations overall. I'm actually kind of intrigued to see how this will work out. It could be a complete and utter disaster, it could also go really well if Lynch puts the right people around him.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

I panicked as soon as I heard that Lynch was the new GM, a guy with no scouting or executive background but based on what is being reported, the 49ers appear to be copying the Denver Broncos model for a front office. The same way that John Elway is the frontman for the organization but has others doing the bulk of the personnel work it sounds like Lynch will be the front man but will be having others doing much of the personnel duties. His role almost sounds like the Vice President of Football Operations position that people have long been hoping that this franchise would get. In that role, Lynch starts to make a bit more sense.


The way Denver has their front office setup

John Elway- Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager
Matt Russell-Director of Player Personnel
Mike Sullivan-Director of Football Administration


With the 49ers it sounds like it will be:

John Lynch-GM
?????(Mark Dominik?) as Head of Player Personnel
Tom Gamble as Head of Pro Personnel
Marathe handling contracts + the salary cap.




Definitely an unorthodox setup but at least I can see some of the logic in it. I guess it depends entirely on how you feel about Dominik or whoever Lynch brings in to handle the bulk of the personnel duties. I can see Lynch being the representative of the team at press conferences, meeting with free agents, handling other public appearances while most of the personnel work is done by the people under him and Marathe maintains his current role of salary cap plus contracts.


You would also have a lot of symmetry if its Dominik. Lynch played with the Bucs while Dominik was in the Tampa front office. Lynch played under Mike Shanahan and is said to be extremely close to the Shanahans, he supposedly called up Kyle and offered to be his GM. Kyle was in Tampa while Dominik was in the front office as well so at least at first glance there shouldn't be any major tension between the front office and the coaching staff, things should work pretty smoothly.


Its an interesting approach, either Jed and Marathe will look like geniuses or this franchise will be an even bigger disaster.

Great post! Nice to see the front office could keeps things this quiet for this long. We will see how it is all set up in the next week or so for sure! Let's roll 49ers!

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Giants9ersfan:

Cue the optimism!

Not really optimism just seeing the logic in it. Lynch's title will be GM but he'll be more of the head of football operations overall. I'm actually kind of intrigued to see how this will work out. It could be a complete and utter disaster, it could also go really well if Lynch puts the right people around him.

I'm holding my judgement til I see who he surrounds himself with. If it's indeed like how spelled it out I can see the logic and can get on board with it.

However, I'm still stoked because I think Kyle is the prize of the off season and if this setup enables him to flourish on the field then it's win-win.

Originally posted by tohara3:
Great post! Nice to see the front office could keeps things this quiet for this long. We will see how it is all set up in the next week or so for sure! Let's roll 49ers!

Oh yeah, that too, its pretty f**king amazing that they were able to keep all this under wraps and have Lynch interviewed as well as having him meet with Kyle without it getting out. That part blows my mind nearly as much as the Lynch hire when I first heard about it.

Originally posted by Niners816:
I'm holding my judgement til I see who he surrounds himself with. If it's indeed like how spelled it out I can see the logic and can get on board with it.

However, I'm still stoked because I think Kyle is the prize of the off season and if this setup enables him to flourish on the field then it's win-win.

It will be important for Lynch to get himself a viable personnel guy like Elway has in Denver with Matt Russell. If its Dominik then at least they bring in someone highly experienced working in an NFL front office and someone with connections to both Lynch and Shanahan.

Agree, great post! Lynch should be a very articulate spokesman for the team, which is long overdue and needed. Will be interesting to see how they all get along.

Good post Phoenix

Lynch will be the trigger man but will surround himself with personnel guys and utilize their expertise is my understanding. Im curious to see how this unfolds

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

It will be important for Lynch to get himself a viable personnel guy like Elway has in Denver with Matt Russell. If its Dominik then at least they bring in someone highly experienced working in an NFL front office and someone with connections to both Lynch and Shanahan.

If it's Dommick, they should've just hired him as GM and made Lynch a Prez of Ops. That would have saved the reaction to this.

Originally posted by Niners816:
If it's Dommick, they should've just hired him as GM and made Lynch a Prez of Ops. That would have saved the reaction to this.

Marathe technically already has that title but it sounds like this is what Lynch's role will be. It could be a good thing, you're bringing in an experienced football guy into the front office, a HOFer, a true winner, a guy who can help keep s**t together.

Like I said, this will either make Jed and Marathe look brilliant or this franchise will be even deeper in s**t.