National Football League

Buccaneers: John Lynch Will Make an Excellent General Manager

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:22 p.m. ET

Fansided, Alan Schechter/FanSided via The Pewter Plank

Former Buccaneers star John Lynch will make a top general manager in this league.

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Earlier this week, the NFL and its fans did a collective “Say what?” in response to former Buccaneers safety John Lynch being hired as the general manager of the 49ers. Per Conor Orr of NFL.com, the contract is for six years. Nobody saw it coming, as the 49ers kept their process close to the vest.

The questions are not without merit. Lynch has no experience as an executive. How can he be expected to walk into that position and deal with general managers in his first job, with a team that needs so much help?

As odd as it seemed at first, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Lynch will do a good job there.

First of all, nobody has experience until somebody gives them a job. John Elway’s first executive job in the NFL was his current position as Director of Football Operations with the Broncos. That has gone pretty well, wouldn’t you say? Granted, Matt Millen took a similar job with the Lions a while back, and that went badly. But, a first job is not a guarantee at failure.

Secondly, playing safety puts him at an advantage. Like a quarterback, the safety understands what is going on as well as anyone on the field. They play a role similar to the quarterback in that they take part in directing defensive coverages. This type of knowledge gives Lynch a healthy understanding of the game. That will translate into a guy that knows what types of players his team needs. It will give him some knowledge that other new general managers might not necessarily have.

Finally, Lynch is a guy that has been watching film on this league, and fostering relationships around the league, for years. As a broadcaster for FOX, he has had to do the same exact thing. Lynch was responsible for researching the teams he was broadcasting that Sunday, and understand what they do. He had to watch film, and have discussions with players and coaches. This is the same type of knowledge that a general manager needs to have. The only difference is that he is talking about it on the air instead of using it to improve a football team.

He will need some help, and word is the 49ers are talking about having Mark Dominik join the front office. I know, Bucs fans, he’s not the greatest general manager ever, but at least he is a guy that has experience making those types of calls.

The bottom line is, even without experience, John Lynch has all of the pieces in place to be a successful general manager in the NFL. He will always be a member of the Bucs family, so we wish him the best of luck, except for when his team matches up with the Bucs.