The San Francisco 49ers announced the hiring of head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday afternoon, and that coupled with the hiring of John Lynch last week gives them the duo they hope will bring them back to respectability.
Jed York has spoken repeatedly about wanting to have his coach and general manager working in partnership. One would like to think the two most important non-playing positions would understand that, but the past few years have been a disaster in that regard.
In order to build that, all indications are that Kyle Shanahan will control the 53-man roster, while John Lynch will control the 90-man roster. Ian Rapoport further emphasized that on Monday following news of the hire.
The plan is for new #49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to have control of the 53-man roster, while GM John Lynch has control of other facets.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 7, 2017
We’ve heard for much of the past week that this is how the partnership would shake out. Splitting it this way will force them in some ways to work to remain on the same page. If Lynch has his philosophy for filling out the 90-man roster, and Shanahan has another philosophy for what he wants on the 53-man roster, it would be a disaster.
On Monday, Lynch and Shanahan both commented on the relationship, and naturally, they were both on board with the other guy.
Lynch: “Our philosophies on football and our visions for leading the 49ers back to being a championship team align in every way. I am thrilled to have Kyle Shanahan on board.”
Shanahan: “As this team begins the task of reestablishing that standard, I could not ask for a better partner than John Lynch. He is a man who certainly has personal knowledge of what championship organizations look like. John and I look forward to establishing a strong culture that will serve as our foundation for constructing this team.”
I would expect nothing less at this point. It very well could prove to be a fantastic relationship that leads to championships and glory. It could also end up going in the tank and resulting in more of what we have seen the past few years. We have no idea how this will play out. The 49ers have a rookie head coach, and an even more inexperienced rookie general manager. They both seem to have strong personality traits that would bode well for the future, but it is still almost entirely projection.
Fingers will remain crossed moving forward!