San Francisco 49ers

John Lynch tested 49ers to see if they could keep a secret before taking GM job

Published Feb. 1, 2017 9:47 p.m. ET

Andre Vergara

The San Francisco 49ers took the football world by surprise when they hired John Lynch as their new GM last month, and the former FOX broadcaster says that's the way he wanted it.

Lynch was aware of the team's reputation for leaking info to the media, and said he put it to the test before taking the job, asking owner Jed York and exec Paraag Marathe to keep his candidacy a secret.

"I made a big deal that this stayed quiet," Lynch told San Francisco's KNBR on Wednesday. "First of all, you know what I was doing? Part of the rumors are things fly out of that building. So I wanted to see could I trust this building, you know? And so that was part of my thinking."

The 49ers are hiring their third head coach in three years, coming off a 2-14 season and still have a decision to make on quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who's been the subject of much of the media leaks in the past couple years. But Lynch said his talks with York have convinced him that the owner wants nothing more than an end to the turmoil and a return to the Niners' winning ways.

"I can tell you what I found, my interaction with Jed York: He's a guy that all he wants to do is win," Lynch told KNBR. "He's tired of some strife and some contention in the building. He wants harmony. He wants to give us the resources. He wants to be a support mechanism, but he wants to get out of the way and let us work. And, to me, that's an awesome deal."

Lynch already has made his first move, hiring vice president of player personnel Adam Peters away from the Broncos, and he promises more exciting moves will come.

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