The San Francisco 49ers culture needed to change when general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan arrived on the scene. It wasn't a departure from the history of one of the most storied franchises in sports that was required, but rather a return it.

Lynch knows that whatever the current regime builds will need to be its own. At the same time, that doesn't mean ignoring what made former 49ers teams so successful. Perhaps that's what previous regimes tried to do.


For Lynch, arriving in Santa Clara and not being reminded of the franchise's rich history was almost enough to make him sick to his stomach. He and Shanahan knew things needed to change.

Lynch has some experience helping to turn around teams that have lost their way. He recently joined the Pardon My Take podcast and was asked what he learned from his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who didn't have a lot of success when he arrived as a player in 1993 but eventually won a Super Bowl years later.

"In Tampa, there had never been success," Lynch said. "Maybe some early on, right when they started with John McKay and what not [...] But it had mostly been bad, so there was nothing to kind of hang your hat on.

"Here, you had the 49er way. So one of the things we did was draw upon the old culture. I remember coming in and almost like physically getting sick because all these guys — and I'm not mad at them — who hadn't done anything in the league got their pictures on the wall.

"It took me 10 years to get a picture up in Tampa. That used to be a big deal and yet the Ronnie Lotts, the Joes (Montana), and the Steves (Young) weren't anywhere in the building. So we put a lot of that up and said, 'We have to create it on our own, but we also have a great roadmap on how to get there.'


"Tony Dungy is one of the wisest men I've ever been around. Prior to him, it had always been 'Change was the answer. We've got to change.' That's what had happened prior to us getting here. I think them giving us six-year contracts allowed us to kind of say, 'Hey, we're not going anywhere for a while, guys, so we better buy in.'"

The 49ers started the Lynch and Shanahan era with nine straight losses but finished strong with five straight victories and a record of 6-10. Now, in the duo's second year at the helm, San Francisco is considered an up and coming team with high expectations for the 2018 season.

"And most importantly, we've got the kind of guys who love the game and are good, smart, tough football players," Lynch continued. "That's what sets the culture — people. I think we're on the right track and we'll see this year."

Click here to listen to the entire interview with John Lynch, which begins at about the 31:35 mark.



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