Jed York on 49ers being 0-6: ‘We’re much closer than our record would suggest’

After six weeks worth of NFL games, the San Francisco 49ers continue to seek their first victory of the season. On Sunday at Levi's Stadium, they will try to acquire that elusive first victory in a matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

"I know we're 0-6 and that's extremely tough," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday, "but I'm extremely excited about this place and excited about where we're at and where we're going."

Shanahan and general manager John Lynch received six-year contracts when they joined the 49ers this year. The length of those contracts will allow them to patiently rebuild the 49ers roster and do so in a way that will ensure long-term future success for the franchise.

For now, being winless can be frustrating, but 49ers CEO Jed York, who spoke to the media following Thursday's practice, knows there is a long-term plan in place.

"We're getting much closer to where we want to be," York said. "Obviously, we're not there yet. I wanted to make sure that John and Kyle came in here and had a very, very long runway, that they had the ability to get the roster where they wanted it and knew that this wasn't going to happen overnight. I think our players are encouraged. They see the progress that they're making. They know that they aren't quite there yet, and when you're losing on the last drive of the last five games and you're really, really close. That's part of having a very young team, having a team that there's been a ton of turnover, almost historic turnover. We need to figure out how do we fight together and how do we make that last push to win on that last drive.

"We're starting to get there. I think our players, as much as you might not like the record, I don't get the sense that our players are discouraged at all. I think there's great belief in Kyle, there's great belief in John, there's great belief in the foundation that we're building. We haven't won enough games in the past few years. But, I think our fans have been fantastic in supporting John, Kyle, this existing team, and knowing that we're building this thing for the future.

"We don't want a quick fix and sacrifice the long-term success for a few wins that may or may not mean anything this season. We want to get our team back to championship caliber level. I think that's the trajectory that we're on. The results might not show it. But, I think the feeling that you get around this building and the feeling that you get talking to the players and the coaches, we're much closer than what our record would suggest."

You can listen York's comments below (courtesy of Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle):

More from York on the owners' meetings in New York City (courtesy of Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group):

York on Colin Kaepernick's continued unemployment (courtesy of Cam Inman):

York on honoring Dwight Clark during Sunday's game against the Cowboys (courtesy of Cam Inman):

York on if he spoke with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about his national anthem stance (courtesy of Eric Branch):