New San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch went on KNBR this morning for the first time. One of the big stories that came out of the interview was the fact that Lynch was well aware of the reputation that the 49ers organization had for leaking information. That was one of the reasons that Lynch insisted that his candidacy remained a secret throughout the entire process. He wanted to test whether or not the 49ers could keep it a secret.
"It is something that I addressed," Lynch explained. "This thing moved and it moved in a hurry. I think the great and liberating things for me and I think why this thing came to fruition – I made a big deal that this stayed quiet. First of all, you know what I was doing? Part of the rumors are things fly out of that building. So I wanted to see could I trust this building, you know? So that was part of my thinking."
Lynch went on to discuss his new boss, Jed York, to whom the new GM will report, according to what Lynch said on Monday. "My interactions with Jed York is he's a guy who all he wants to do is win," Lynch said. "He's tired of some strife and contention in the building. He wants harmony and he wants to give us the resources. He wants to be a support mechanism, but he wants to get out of the way and let us work. To me, that's an awesome deal."
"This isn't just a normal franchise," Lynch continued. "This is one of the iconic franchises in football and the opportunity to restore that to its glory and to work really hard to do that, that just got me. So, again, things progressed very quickly and at the end of the day, I said, 'You know what? It's a big challenge.'
"Are there skeptics? Absolutely. Should there be skeptics? Absolutely. I understand that. And I understand the only way we change those skeptical thoughts from people is to win. That's what this league is all about and I won't make any promises as to when that will happen, but we're going to work our tail off. I'm going to surround myself with great people that can fill some of my deficiencies. That already started. Adam Peters was a homerun hire for us. We're full speed ahead already."
You can listen to the entire interview on KNBR.
Some have been critical of the Lynch hire because of his lack of front office experience. However, those who know Lynch and have worked with him have praised the hire by the 49ers. Those names include FOX insider Jay Glazer, NFL Network analyst Brian Billick, former 49ers tight end Brent Jones, and former NFL quarterback and current FOX sportscaster Troy Aikman.
In less than a week, Lynch is expected to be joined by Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is very likely to become the new head coach of the 49ers. Shanahan is preparing his Falcons to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Sunday.