San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch joined KNBR last week, just before signing a contract extension that locked him in through the 2024 season.
"I kind of live in the moment," Lynch said during that interview. "So, not thinking years and years out. Don't know if I'm going to be a lifer at this thing, but I love what we're doing. I love coming to work each day."
It's that "Don't know if I'm going to be a lifer at this thing" portion that created a few waves.
Maybe some ripples.
Still, it was a comment that was dissected on social media. It is an example of something that is, perhaps, overanalyzed, when everyone pretty much knows there is nothing there. Some, however, questioned if being a general manager was not something Lynch can envision doing for the foreseeable future. I mean, we know he will be doing it through 2024. What about after that?
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, during a Zoom press conference on Monday afternoon, asked Lynch to clarify on that earlier comment.
First, head coach Kyle Shanahan jumped in and said, "Well, none of us are lifers. We don't want to do it until we're 80, you know?"
Then the general manager responded.
"Sometimes I get tripped up because sports radio used to be kind of off-limits," Lynch said. "You could talk in almost a free zone. What you say on there, sometimes there's context.
"In terms of not being a lifer, I think I was just commenting that I don't know really how long I'll do this for. I know I'll do it for the next five years. I'm having a blast doing it. I love, as I mentioned, coming to work each and every day, and when I said that, I kind of said, 'Oh no, that's going to become a story.'
"Really, there's nothing to it. ... My wife has been tremendous. I played for 15 years and then traveled for broadcasting. But she loves this, and [my family is] a part of it, so everything's good right now. I kind of live in the moment, and [there's] nothing really to that comment."
