Long-time NFL executive and analyst Michael Lombardi just joined The Athletic and was a guest on "The TK Show" podcast this week with host Tim Kawakami. During the interview, Lombardi discussed several topics including the Khalil Mack saga in Oakland and the time he nearly became the San Francisco 49ers general manager. The job eventually went to Trent Baalke.
Lombardi started his NFL career as a scout for 49ers head coach Bill Walsh in the 80s. Until 2016, he was an assistant to the coaching staff in New England and worked closely with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
What was really interesting about the discussion was Lombardi's thoughts on the trade that sent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers in exchange for a second-round pick. Obviously, the Patriots could have received more from another team or even tried to get more out of San Francisco for the player everyone assumed would eventually replace Tom Brady in New England.
"[Belichick] knows Garoppolo is a good player," Lombardi said.
He went on to say that had Garoppolo been represented by anyone other than Don Yee, who is also Brady's agent, then a deal might have gotten done in New England.
Kawakami asked Lombardi about the trade.
"That really played hard into Belichick's hand of what he wanted to do, and I think that became a problem," Lombardi continued. "That being said, it kind of limited his options. I think he took the best deal he could make at the time."
Belichick knew the 49ers were interested in Garoppolo. About seven months before the trade, general manager John Lynch called Belichick to inquire about the quarterback. Belichick was unwilling to part with Brady's successor at the time. What changed during those seven months remains a mystery.
Still, with Garoppolo seen as a starting-caliber quarterback, why didn't Belichick ask for a first-round pick when he called the 49ers in late October?
Lombardi offered an interesting opinion.
"I don't think [the 49ers] were in the Jimmy Garoppolo love mode at the time," Lombardi said. "I think they were still in the Kirk Cousins, we're going to sign him, love mode. I think it took a lot to convince Kyle that Jimmy was better than Kirk Cousins. I think Kyle had his mind made up that Kirk Cousins was the answer and that he was going to be the savior to his problems as the 49ers head coach and (co-)executive.
"Give Kyle credit. Kyle gave it an opportunity, looked at it, but basically made the right decision."
It's no secret that Shanahan's long-term plan was to eventually acquire Kirk Cousins. He and Lynch had six-year contracts with the 49ers so they could afford to wait until he was available without surrendering draft picks.
Shanahan was there when Washington drafted Cousins, and they spent two seasons together. Garoppolo was more of an unknown than Cousins when the 49ers decided to send a second-round pick to New England for the opportunity to try him out.
Shanahan, however, was not totally unfamiliar with Garoppolo. Shanahan studied Garoppolo coming out of college when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Cleveland and liked him so much that he urged the Browns to draft him. Cleveland decided to go with Johnny Manziel.
Lombardi and Kawakami theorize that because the 49ers had a plan in place, they did not have to overspend for Garoppolo. There was no need to surrender a high first-round pick for the quarterback when they could afford Cousins in just over four months' time.
Lombardi likes where the 49ers are headed and feels the team has a bright future with Shanahan and Garoppolo.
"I think they're finally at a point where they've got a quarterback," he said. "They've got someone they can build around. They've got a great head coach. I think Kyle Shanahan is one of the best coaches.
"We interviewed Kyle Shanahan as the offensive coordinator when I was still the GM in Cleveland, and after we interviewed him, I said, 'We should have hired him as the head coach,' back then."
Click here to listen to the entire interview with Lombardi.