Do you remember that report this past offseason of
friction in the building between San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch? Offensive tackle Joe Staley barely wanted to acknowledge the rumor when asked about it on Wednesday.
"I don't think anybody was actually thinking there was any dysfunction," Staley told reporters. "It was probably just a storyline at the time. Because I think people want to create that narrative, but we never saw any of that. I think it was addressed on by them, and there was never any of that here."
Who knows what might have happened had the losses started to pile up again this season. They didn't, though. The 49ers won, and they won a lot. Now, Shanahan and Lynch find their team, the roster they built, on the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
It's difficult to imagine there was ever any dysfunction in the first place. At least, it's tough to think that when you see Shanahan and Lynch hug each other on the sidelines after nearly every win. The two seem to be in sync, and the relationship appears harmonious.
Lynch did everything in his power to help Shanahan build the type of team he envisioned when the two took over a talent-depleted roster in 2017. Shanahan needed a fullback to help build a run-heavy offense. The 49ers signed the best in the game,
Kyle Juszczyk. The coach wanted a corner who looked and played like Richard Sherman, so Lynch went and got one — Richard Sherman. The two wanted to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. They put together a solid offensive line and a punishing defensive line.
Oh, and Shanahan needed a quarterback, too. Enter Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers coach said before the season that he felt this roster was the deepest he's had since joining the team, and that depth would help should any surprise injuries occur. That is precisely what happened. As players went down, others stepped into their place, and the team kept rolling.
"John and his staff have been unbelievable," Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. "When we came here, we knew we had to go get some (players). There were a lot here to start with that have worked out very well, but we also knew we had a lot of hard work in front of us.
"John and his staff have presented all this stuff and got us a ton of guys, and it's been great because even the big key ones that everyone knows about have made a huge difference. Also, we've had a lot of injuries this year too, where a lot of guys have had to step up, and our depth has really been challenged this year, and I think it's a credit to our personnel staff."
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was asked on Thursday about the relationship between his head coach and general manager.
"Yeah, so Kyle and John, very similar," Saleh responded. "I'm just speaking from past experience with [Pete Carroll] and John Schneider, you know, the working relationship they have is phenomenal.
"You can tell that they're locked at the hip. Even in the event they may disagree, it is a very respectful conversation. They really do a good job uniting and unifying the entire building, so the scouts, coaches, everybody [are] all on the same page with what's being asked of them. The message is very clear.
"I can't tip my hat off enough to those two, and how they lead us, and the way they treat one another for the entire building to see that."
A win on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers puts Shanahan's and Lynch's 49ers in the Super Bowl with an opportunity to do what they set out to do when they took over the team — earn the sixth championship for the organization.
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
Rumors have swirled regarding the situation between the San Francisco 49ers and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is entering his fifth NFL season and is slated to earn $14.124 million on a team-executed fifth-year option. Despite the 49ers publicly declaring a desire to sign Aiyuk to a contract extension, keeping him on the roster for the foreseeable future, many rumors have focused on potential trade interest.
On Monday, general manager John Lynch held his annual pre-draft press conference, addressing the Aiyuk situation without revealing any information on the conversations that have taken place behind closed doors. Once again, he emphasized that the 49ers want Aiyuk to remain with the team for the remainder of his career.
When asked if there was a chance Aiyuk
The decision to trade up in the 2021 NFL Draft and select quarterback Trey Lance could have had significant consequences for general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan. With the team lacking first-round picks in the last two drafts due to this move, and Lance no longer on the roster after being traded to the Dallas Cowboys before last season, it's clear the gamble didn't unfold as expected.
Lynch held his annual pre-draft press conference on Monday, reflecting on the decision to take such a big chance on Lance. While such a bold move might have jeopardized jobs elsewhere, Lynch and Shanahan were blessed with some good fortune in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Acknowledging the support of the team's ownership, Lynch stated, "They believe in Kyle and I, and our
As customary, NFL teams engage in preliminary discussions about potential draft trades during owner meetings. The San Francisco 49ers currently hold the No. 31 spot in the first round but appear receptive to moving either up or down. The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night.
General manager John Lynch addressed reporters on Monday and acknowledged the wide range of possibilities. However, he noted that any potential discussions about trading spots with other teams will likely intensify later in the week.
"It's going to be an interesting year," Lynch stated. "I think it's an interesting draft class. I was just looking at my notes and one interesting thing to me, dynamic, and the way of the world right now, we put a grade on players in the fall if we think
