The San Francisco 49ers GM and head coach search process over the past month involved CEO Jed York, executive VP of football operations Paraag Marathe, and director of football administration Brian Hampton. Once the team surprised us all and selected John Lynch for the GM role, one of the many questions to be answered was the organizational structure.
During his conference call on Monday, Lynch was asked if Paraag Marathe was his boss. Lynch said that he is excited to work with Marathe, but Lynch will report to Jed York.
“Paraag’s a guy that I’m really excited to work with in a number of roles supporting me and this organization. But, I report to Jed York and that’s what I’ve been instructed. That’s who I report to. Like I said, during this whole process, I was very up front. I’m smart enough to know what I don’t know. I’ve negotiated my own contracts, I’ve been involved in those discussions, but I have not done that. And so, I feel real blessed that in our building, in Paraag, we have what numerous people have told me is one of the most skilled contract negotiators in the business. I’m excited about that.”
He talked about “supporting me and this organization.” Marathe and Lynch are listed atop the football operations department. Marathe’s most valuable public role with the 49ers has been as a contract negotiator, but we also know he has been a big proponent of the use of analytics. We know he will be actively involved, but to what extent remains to be seen. John Lynch seems to view him primarily from the contract negotiation angle, but we’ll have to wait and see what develops beyond that.