National Football League

John Lynch an unconventional, intriguing choice for 49ers GM

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:39 p.m. ET

Fansided, Sayre Bedinger/FanSided via NFL Mocks

The San Francisco 49ers made a shocking decision on Sunday to hire Hall of Fame NFL safety John Lynch as their next general manager…

John Lynch has been hired as the new general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, in one of the more shocking developments early on in the offseason.

Huge scoopage: 49ers are hiring John Lynch as their new general manager @NFLonFOX has learned

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) January 30, 2017

This move is so crazy it just might work. After all, Lynch is certain to be bringing in a capable staff to work around him. That’s already been reported, in fact…

York tells Cam that he believes Lynch will assemble a "great staff" … so he already has to know who's coming. https://t.co/5E2mrzU3LA

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 30, 2017

So, what is there to like about this move? Lynch’s first order of business as GM of this 49ers team is going to be hiring a head coach, which is presumed to be Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan is one of the hottest head coaching candidates on the market, one that could be fresh off of a Super Bowl victory a week from today. But these two will have a major undertaking ahead as they attempt to rebuild a once proud franchise.

Lynch is obviously an excellent football mind, a Hall of Famer who has also done an excellent job in his post-playing career as a color commentator on FOX NFL Sundays. Lynch has had a bird’s eye view of how NFL teams should be built. The context he has as a commentator is not simply observational on a play-by-play basis. Lynch is talking to coaches and players every single week, learning tendencies and studying the game intently.

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He’s seen what it takes to win in the NFL, and he’s also been able to see what doesn’t work.

Now, Lynch will take all that he’s been learning and apply it to the front office. There’s a lot more that goes into being a general manager of an NFL team that we can probably even know, but Lynch will certainly have time to learn and make adjustments. The great part about this deal from Lynch’s perspective is that the expectations in San Francisco have never been lower.

San Francisco has — in my opinion — the least talented roster in the NFL, but they have the 2nd overall pick in the draft and a ton of money to spend in free agency. Lynch has essentially a blank canvas and one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the league to work with. He signed a six-year contract and will have plenty of time to make wholesale changes and see it through.

Of course, Jed York seems a bit unpredictable and not exactly the best guy to work for in the NFL right now, but he’s clearly got a lot of faith in Lynch and the staff he is planning to put together.

There’s really no precedence for this move that I can remember in the NFL. Lynch has no background as a member of an NFL front office, and is being given a huge vote of confidence by one of the league’s most storied franchises. This is a high risk move, to say the least.

But I can’t say I’m not a fan.