Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Report: John Lynch will have final say on 49ers personnel
Jan 30, 2017 at 2:18 PM
•
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
New San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch has no front office experience, which has made his hiring a controversial topic since the announcement on Sunday night.
It has been assumed by many that the lack of experience meant that Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is expected to become the new 49ers head coach in a week, would have final say on the team's 53-man roster. That may not be accurate.
According to Jim Trotter of
ESPN, Lynch will have the final say on personnel and the 53-man roster. During an exchange with our own Aaron Erickson, an analyst and writer for 49ers Webzone, Trotter said that Lynch would be the final decision maker and said that his source was the 49ers' owner.
"If Lynch will have final say on personnel - and he will - the evaluation part is pretty important," Trotter told Erickson during a back-and-forth discussion via Twitter. When asked how he knew Lynch would have the final say over the roster, Trotter said 49ers ownership informed him.
Of course, that doesn't mean that Lynch won't let Shanahan's opinion heavily influence roster decisions. The hope by 49ers CEO Jed York is that the duo will work well together to rebuild the talent-depleted roster.
Lynch, who wanted his candidacy to remain a secret, met with York at his home on Thursday. He was actually the one who contacted Shanahan about the possibility of working together and the pair met with each other on Friday when Lynch flew to Atlanta with York and chief strategy officer Paraag Marathe.
The new 49ers general manager will take part in a conference call with Bay Area media at 4:15 p.m. PT where he will likely be asked about final say over the roster.
Lynch is the 11th general manager in franchise history. He enjoyed a 15-year NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos and was a four-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowl selection. Lynch was part of the Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.
Lynch replaces Trent Baalke, whose firing was officially announced by the team on January 1 following the 49ers' final game of the 2016 season.
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
49ers agree to multi-year contract extensions with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch
The San Francisco 49ers plan to keep the band together for a long time. The team announced that it has agreed to multi-year contract extensions with head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
Details of the contracts are currently unknown. Before the new deals, Shanahan had been signed through the 2025 season, while Lynch was locked up through the 2024 season. They will now remain with the team longer than that.
The 49ers Communications staff provided the following rundown.
The duo joined the 49ers in February of 2017 and have since led the organization to the postseason three times, claimed two NFC West division titles (2019 & 2022), reached three NFC Championship games (2019 & 2021-22) and a trip to Super Bowl
John Lynch: Brandon Aiyuk's status for 49ers-Giants remains "very fluid," could be game-time decision
This week's focus remains on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The team has a short week to prepare for its next opponent—the New York Giants on Thursday night at Levi's Stadium. The matchup comes just four days after the Niners' 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Aiyuk suffered a shoulder injury on his first catch, a 13-yard reception during San Francisco's opening drive. He was in and out of the lineup throughout the game and was limited during the 49ers' light Tuesday practice.
On Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the decision will come down to how Aiyuk feels and the evaluation from the training staff. It sounds like the receiver may end up being a
John Lynch, Steve Wilks believe sacks will come for 49ers' Nick Bosa
Nick Bosa played 56 percent of the defensive snaps in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year did not reach Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett in the game.
On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers pass rusher played 79 percent of the defensive snaps, again being held without a sack as Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford quickly got the football out of his hands.
Bosa held out for six weeks as he awaited a contract extension, which didn't come until just days before Week 1. The defensive end missed all of training camp and the preseason. Has the absence contributed to a lack of productivity?
"I've always said, I don't care who you are, you need to get your football legs underneath you," general manager
How Christian McCaffrey unlocked the 49ers offense, per John Lynch
The San Francisco 49ers struggled to a .500 record in their first six games last season. Knowing that the talent was there, the team's decision-makers looked to make a move that could elevate the roster to a Super Bowl contender. That move was trading for running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey suited up in red and gold just two days after arriving in Santa Clara. His first start came the next week against the Los Angeles Rams. San Francisco won that game and the 11 that followed, reaching the NFC Championship Game for the third time in four seasons.
The decision to add yet another playmaker paid off.
"We really felt like Christian, already having [WR] Deebo [Samuel], having [WR Brandon] Aiyuk, having [TE George] Kittle, having [RB] Elijah
