49ers Culture Change - the new '49er Way'

Does anyone else feel a concerted effort has been made to change the 49ers culture - not just on the field wins and losses but off the field, the locker room, creating an environment of excellence - and being an open and transparent organisation - with a lot more access (media wise) but no more leaks etc.

I get the feeling this was part of the Lynch/Shanahan pitch for the GM/HC jobs at the start of the year and boy are they delivering.

There has been a lot of talk about changing the culture at the 49ers from a losing one to a winning one.

Not just limited on the field I think there has been a real emphasis under the Lynch/Shanahan regime to change the culture in the whole organisation.

In the 80s/90s era there was the 49er way - where there was a certain way of doing things in the organisation - it set the tone for a winning organisation - Michael Lombardi told a story recently where a 49er fringe player was practicing without a shirt on one day - Bill Walsh saw this and then cut that player - because that went against the 49er way.

The new regime brought in 49er legends in the offseason (Rice, Young) to help connect the team to its past and teach what it means to be a 49er.

If you look at the free agents the 49ers brought in they are all high calibre guys.

- Garcon, Juice, Goodwin, Dumervil (who Lynch played with) etc.

The 49ers have also parted ways with a couple of players from the previous regime who did not fit with this new culture

- Rashard Robinson, Navorro Bowman (I know there were other factors here but disgruntled veterans in the locker room were not wanted)

If you look at the current roster - there doesnt seem to be many egos or me-first type players (by comparison the Seahawks are dealing with all sorts of issues, even the 49ers under Harbaugh had Aldon, Boone, Anthony Davis, Crabtree etc).

Even before this win streak, there was a lot of talk about the locker room being really tight. This has been mentioned over and over by multiple players/sources. This is probably what i've been most impressed with in Shanahan - yes he's an offensive genius but his ability to get buy in from the whole team even when they didnt have success initially is really impressive (especially for a rookie coach who had a reputation as being arrogant). Having strong veterans in the locker room helps.

Then to top it off, the 49ers get a superstar QB who was come from an organisation in the Patriots that has taken a lot of what the 80s/90s 49ers did and carried it on. Jimmy G is now the leader of the team seems to have the perfect temperament for a franchise QB - he makes everything go.

Shanahan has brought back a modern version of the West Coast offense, but it feels like they are bringing back the overall culture from that 49ers dynasty era too.

In addition to this, Lynch & co, have gone out of their way to revive the 49er brand - connecting with the fanbase (tailgating with fans), providing unique access both from in-house productions (the 49 Hours youtube videos) and externally (giving Peter King draft day access) and connecting with the community (just today there was a video of Lynch giving a local high school football coach tickets to the Super Bowl).

Lynch being a former player and a former broadcaster gives him a great insight into both what makes a successful locker room and being able to communicate with the fanbase/community.

The NFL have to be really happy with the 49ers - soon to be the only franchise in a large media market, a historic franchise, now has a really exciting young team and a superstar QB with a offensive wizard coach and super media friendly GM - the 49ers have given the NFL great publicity this month - Jimmy G & Co are a positive talking point for a League that badly needs them.

What do others think?

Absolutely agreed. Every player that is interviewed says something along these lines. Even before JG arrived, this was happening. His play has just elevated everyone's performance, and legitimized what the coaches and management have been trying to instill. Exciting times for this team and franchise!

Absolutely great posts! Love everything Lynch, Shanahan & Peters are doing to bring this franchise back to relevance again so quickly! Great time to be a 49ers fan!!

Originally posted by tohara3:
Absolutely great posts! Love everything Lynch, Shanahan & Peters are doing to bring this franchise back to relevance again so quickly! Great time to be a 49ers fan!!

It's making 49ers football fun again.

Originally posted by tohara3:

Absolutely great posts! Love everything Lynch, Shanahan & Peters are doing to bring this franchise back to relevance again so quickly! Great time to be a 49ers fan!!

Get ready for people quick to yell out, u bandwagon.

Thats what Lynch and Shannon have preached since day one. I thought everyone knew that...

Originally posted by JBrack:
Thats what Lynch and Shannon have preached since day one. I thought everyone knew that...

It's one thing to say it. It's another to actually do it. I'm sure every Browns regime since 99 has talked a good game.

Originally posted by KiwiM:

Originally posted by JBrack:

Thats what Lynch and Shannon have preached since day one. I thought everyone knew that...

It's one thing to say it. It's another to actually do it. I'm sure every Browns regime since 99 has talked a good game.

Cleveland drafts thugs and trouble makers. They draft talent, not character...

Totally agree with you, John Lynch has brought a culture and identity to the the entire organization. Kyle Shanahan has a proven offensive scheme that can adapt to any opponent and we have a quarterback in Jimmy G that understands what he has been given and can run the offense. If things continue down this path I see a new Golden Era for the 49ers.

One last guy to get rid of...

Originally posted by KiwiM:

Originally posted by JBrack:

Thats what Lynch and Shannon have preached since day one. I thought everyone knew that...

It's one thing to say it. It's another to actually do it. I'm sure every Browns regime since 99 has talked a good game.

Very easy to say this now. if jimmy never arrived here, you probably don't post this... just saying

Originally posted by Dr_Bill_Walsh:
One last guy to get rid of...

Yup

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
Very easy to say this now. if jimmy never arrived here, you probably don't post this... just saying

I think you could see the signs prior to jimmy arriving (former players brought in at training camp, more media/fan access to the team, talk of the locker room being a really tight group etc) but yes of course Jimmy has added a whole new dimension - winning is the ultimate goal and makes everything better.

But of course you could say the same about the Patriots culture/dynasty if they never select Brady in the 6th round/if Bledisloe never gets hurt etc.

Originally posted by Tombo:

Originally posted by Dr_Bill_Walsh:

One last guy to get rid of...

Yup

Exactly. Once Dontae Johnson is gone, we can start building up that secondary.

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by KiwiM:

Originally posted by JBrack:

Thats what Lynch and Shannon have preached since day one. I thought everyone knew that...

It's one thing to say it. It's another to actually do it. I'm sure every Browns regime since 99 has talked a good game.

Very easy to say this now. if jimmy never arrived here, you probably don't post this... just saying

Not true, they meant business and you can tell by the way they got rid of Brock, Bowman and Robinson, amongst others.

You're either on board or off the team