San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York was recently arrested in Ohio during a prostitution sting, leaving many wondering what his role with the team might look like moving forward.
49ers general manager John Lynch says York remains heavily involved with the organization, even if he is not physically present with the team. For now, the owner would presumably prefer to stay out of the spotlight.
Lynch joined The TK Show this week and shared that communication with York remains strong despite his legal troubles and the possibility of NFL discipline. Lynch acknowledged that the communication has changed, as York was previously an "in-the-building-almost-every-day type of owner."
The general manager believes York's presence around the facility has been beneficial in the past, but the 49ers must now adapt to his absence.
Fortunately, the current group of decision-makers is entering its 10th season together, which has helped the organization navigate this unexpected transition.
"Okay, if he's not going to be here, Jed, we've got to talk on a regular basis," Lynch told Tim Kawakami. "He knows that, we know that, we've done that. Now, to the regularity that we normally do, because conversations kind of come up organically, no, but it's probably led to a lot more scheduled meetings where, in the past, it was more organic.
"Yesterday morning, [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and I were on a Zoom with Jed and had a great discussion about a variety of things. And so, that communication is critical, I think, to keep everybody on the same page. And Jed, he's been a great sounding board over the years. He trusts us."
Lynch and the 49ers are well aware that their working relationship with York could be further altered if the NFL imposes discipline. As a result, they are trying to address more of the organization's big-picture discussions earlier than usual.
"Let's have conversations beforehand so that we know exactly where his wishes are," Lynch said. "And you can't do that for everything because issues come up, like [the] trade deadline. You don't know until you know, and there's so many factors that go into that. But we'll be prepared for everything because we've put in the work, we've put in the communication beforehand."
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