Podcast: The Ultimate 49ers History Lesson →
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports


John Lynch Is Ready for His Biggest Test

Apr 26, 2017 at 7:03 AM


When the 49ers announced John Lynch as general manager in February, it offered more questions for fans than answers.

This isn't a surprise since the same can be said of any new general manager, but Lynch was different. He had no background as a talent evaluator and no real front office experience on his resume. Yet the keys to the kingdom were his, leaving us to wonder if he would be up to the task of breathing new life into the 49ers.

Speaking to the media from the draft room where he'll make the first draft selection of his 49er tenure, Lynch shared his feelings about the upcoming milestone, "I can tell you that just last night I finally got to the point, I always knew as a player like, 'OK. I'm ready.' That moment was yesterday for me where I said, 'OK. I'm ready. I'm ready to go on this thing.' That's a good feeling."

We're all still wondering, but there's his answer.

Before free agency, the media was justifiably brutal about what Lynch was up against. No free agents would want to come to a toxic organization like San Francisco. Yet Lynch got them in the building and sold them on the future. Kyle Shanahan was a huge part of that, but the facilitator was Lynch. It not only improved the roster, it also validated fans who wanted someone willing to rebuild rather than reload, and every time a player put pen to paper on a contract Lynch took to Twitter to remind us that he's building something for all of us, #BrickByBrick.

The sort of success Lynch has had in his life naturally breeds self-assurance, and his brief time in Santa Clara has been free of any missteps that might discourage us. This is a man who has redefined all notions of what to expect from the 49ers front office in just a few months – he's open with fans and media without revealing his hand, he's built a talented team of scouts around him, even his press conference Monday was a break from what we've come to expect.

Yet with all this, it wasn't until Sunday that he felt prepared for the NFL Draft. Lynch has reassured fans with his confidence and it's been a welcome change, but he's also humble enough to know the truth of his new front office position. No one truly needs charisma from any general manager. Mostly, they need their general manager to deliver results for seven rounds every spring. It's the yardstick all general managers are measured by, especially those digging a franchise out of the gutter.

The entire offseason has been a prelude to Thursday night. It's the biggest stage the novice general manager has walked since coming to Santa Clara. The draft is more important than any hashtag, more critical for the future than any free agent, and – most of all – more damning if the picks don't lead to success on the field.

The Faithful know that last point by heart thanks to recent seasons – as does former general manager Trent Baalke.

Baalke wasn't charming, he wasn't open, and I doubt anyone cared about it until the 49ers were already fielding a terrible squad. No one lost sleep because Trent didn't care about hashtags and no one thinks that led to his failure. What continues to haunt the minds of fans isn't the gruff exterior of the former talent evaluator, it's the years of missed opportunities taking the field every Sunday in another team's uniform.

Perhaps that's what makes the draft so difficult: we all know who was on the board when Baalke picked a bust, and the clarity of hindsight offers little empathy. We watched entire draft classes go to waste as other teams found the players who led them to Lombardi trophies. Baalke's method of subtraction-by-addition took its toll, and while his feud with Harbaugh stings the most for fans, his drafting is what cost him his job.

That's the weight Lynch carries on his shoulders this week. It's his second draft day as a rookie, but the first where the power is in his hands. Free agency let Lynch dip his toes in the uncertain waters of fan expectations, but the draft will force him to dive in and swim.

It will be years before we really know whether Lynch is ready for his moment this Thursday. The picks will be made and met with enthusiasm or frustration. Trades may happen, adding to the alternate draft possibilities that we'll commit to memory as we wait to pass final judgement on the first selections made by the new general manager. While time waits to tell us the ends to these stories, right now John Lynch says he's ready.

And I'm ready to take him at his word.
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.


0 Comments

  • No Comments

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News



6 biggest 49ers draft mistakes of the Shanahan and Lynch era

By Rohan Chakravarthi
23 hrs

The San Francisco 49ers have been known as a team that has built throughout the draft in the Kyle Shanahan era, which has led to seasoned success throughout the head coach's tenure, with the organization reaching the NFC Championship Game three times over the past four seasons. However, among the several draft hits that have propelled their roster to one of the league's best, there have been several mistakes that set the organization back at the time. With the NFL Draft approaching next month, and the 49ers having another integral draft for their future success, let's revisit the five biggest draft mistakes of the Shanahan-Lynch era thus far. Honorable Mention: Trey Lance It feels absolutely unfair to place Trey Lance on this list at



Javon Hargrave ready to kick in doors with 49ers

By David Bonilla
20 hrs

Javon Hargrave earned a 91.1 overall Pro Football Focus grade against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. It was his second-highest grade of the season (91.5, Week 18 vs. Giants). His 92.9 pass-rush grade was also his second-highest of the season (93.1, Week 10 vs. Commanders). The Philadelphia Eagles recorded 20 total pressures that afternoon. Five came via Hargrave, tying Haason Reddick's five for the game lead. Hargrave's season pass-rush grade of 91.1 (regular season and playoffs) was surpassed by only two interior defensive linemen—Dexter Lawrence and Chris Jones—and it wasn't even the Eagles defensive tackle's best career pass-rush grade. That came a season earlier in 2021 when he earned a 91.6 mark, the pinnacle of steadily improving


Featured

More by Michael Fitch

More Articles

Share 49ersWebzone