Kyle Shanahan will arrive in the Bay Area on Wednesday to begin work as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and new general manager John Lynch is excited about his arrival. Shanahan has been in the Atlanta area preparing for his move to the West Coast. Lynch is excited about the upcoming partnership with Shanahan. The two, who both received six-year deals with the 49ers, will be tied at the hip for a while.
Lynch pulled double duty on Tuesday doing interviews with both 95.7 The Game and KNBR. They were his first interviews since his new team officially named Shanahan the new head coach.
During his interview with 95.7 The Game, Lynch discussed the reasoning behind the secrecy of his candidacy. He said the main reason was because of his family and his job with FOX. He wanted to make sure people didn't hear about it for the first time from media outlets.
Lynch was asked what the first discussion with Shanahan will be when the new head coach arrives on Wednesday. "Well, first of all, it's already been going," Lynch said. "All last week, I was interviewing coaches trying to put together a staff. The work has been going. I secured Adam Peters and that was a huge deal. We're going to make some more announcements in the front office of guys that I think can help build our team.
"The coaching staff's going to start falling into place here really quickly. Guys we're really proud to introduce to this community and to the 49er fans because we think, given the circumstances, how late in the game it was, we really pulled off a coup with the staff we're putting together. That has been at work. That is being handled.
"But for Kyle and I? That's a really good question. Draft meetings have started. So we're in here. But I think what's important, Kyle and I have talked about, is that he and I sit down and take inventory of what we have on the 49ers. I think we both know in broad strokes but there's no substitute for sitting there and watching film and a lot of it's going to be watching the Atlanta Falcons offensively and wherever we decide to go defensively to say, 'This is what we're looking for at this position.'
"One thing that Kyle and I agreed to when we did this – it was going to be a true partnership. We've got to be lockstep. Our contracts are really playing towards that in terms of there's a lot of things where we split the control right down -- we won't get into those details but this just really is, in every way, a true partnership and we've got to see eye to eye and the only way to do that is just to go through the film and say, 'Okay, what is it that you're looking for at this position? What is it that you're looking for at this position?' I can then convey that to my scouts so that you really have a great idea of when you go out on the road, here's what we're looking for. When we're watching these guys on film, here's what we're looking for. And that will carry on through when Kyle sets his staff. There's going to be a great synergy between coaching staff and management and I think that's critical for success."
You can listen to the entire 95.7 The Game interview here.
As for the quarterback position, Lynch and his 49ers scouts spent Monday discussing college prospects. Shanahan will join that discussion when he arrives. "We've already discussed it but we're going to get together and find out exactly what he's looking for in a quarterback," Lynch said on KNBR.
Colin Kaepernick is the only 49ers quarterback currently under contract for the 2017 season, but that is expected to change in early March. ESPN has reported that Kaepernick will opt out of the remainder of his contract and become a free agent at the start of the new league year. No other quarterback is signed for the 2017 season.
If the 49ers decide to draft a quarterback, Lynch is leery of throwing a rookie into a system as complex as Shanahan's. "You get in Kyle Shanahan's system and you've got 15-word plays," Lynch said. "The coach is in your ear but you still have to replicate that with confidence and authority. It's a big challenge."
You can listen to the entire KNBR interview here.
(h/t to Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group for the KNBR quotes)