The wait for the Pro Football Hall of Fame continues for 49ers general manager John Lynch. He failed to make the final cut in his seventh year as a finalist, according to a report by Ryan O'Halloran of the Denver Post.
Source says former #Broncos S John Lynch did not make it.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) February 1, 2020
Lynch later confirmed the report.
It's an incredible honor to be a @ProFootballHOF finalist. I want to congratulate all of those that have been selected to this year's class. I believe my time will come.....in God's time. #Faithful - Let's go win a Super Bowl!
— John Lynch (@JohnLynch49ers) February 1, 2020
Lynch could end up having a very good weekend, though. Tomorrow, his team will compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LIV in just his third season as an NFL executive.
The hard-hitting safety played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1993 until 2003 and then for the Denver Broncos from 2004 until 2007. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection over the course of his 15-year NFL career. During that time, Lynch registered 1,051 combined tackles, 26 interceptions, 13 sacks, and 16 forced fumbles, according to ESPN.
Following his retirement as a player, Lynch entered the FOX broadcast booth as a color commentator for NFL games from 2008 through 2016. During that final year with FOX, he was inducted into both the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor.
Lynch had no front office experience when hired by the 49ers in January of 2017. The roster that he and head coach Kyle Shanahan built during their first year together started the season by losing nine consecutive games. Two years later, San Francisco finished the regular season 13-3 and went on to win its two playoff games en route to Super Bowl LIV.
Apparently, two other safeties, Steve Atwater and Troy Polamalu, did make the cut.
San Francisco #49ers general manager and former #Bucs player John Lynch doesn't make the Pro Football Hall of Fame but fellow safeties Steve Atwater and Troy Polamalu do. @Buccaneers @49ers https://t.co/wHLX75kmi5
— TampaBayTimesSports (@TBTimes_Sports) February 1, 2020
Former 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young and wide receiver Isaac Bruce are still possibilities for the Class of 2020. Young spent all 14 of his NFL seasons with San Francisco while Bruce spent his final two with the 49ers.
Update: While Bruce was named to the Class of 2020, Young was not.
