The San Francisco 49ers are into year two of the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch era, and things are humming along pretty well. It wasn’t that long ago that things were in seriously rough shape. After three straight trips to the NFC Championship Game, things went south in a hurry, and Jed York found himself churning through head coaches at a ridiculous clip.
Following the 2016 season, York blew things up, firing Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly, and starting a search process for a new structure. He ended up deciding on Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, and it has worked out quite well. The organization was in a funk, and they have changed the atmosphere in a huge way.
Shanahan was a hot candidate to become a head coach, but one red flag was a question of his attitude around other people. It turns out he is a very direct individual, and some people take that the wrong way. York chatted with David Lombardi and Matt Maiocco on Wednesday, and he offered an amusing story about his interview with Shanahan. He said that he opened the interview by asking Shanahan what he thought of the 49ers franchise at the time.
“He was very honest with you,” York said, before pausing, clearly deliberating whether or not he should share Shanahan’s exact quote. York refrained from that but did say that Shanahan “wasn’t very complimentary.”
York understood that people might have issues with that kind of directness, but as he put it, “It’s a lot easier for me to deal with real direct feedback from a coach and GM about, ‘this is where the team is.’”
I find myself pondering what Shanahan might have specifically had to say about the state of the 49ers a year ago. The team stunk, and there was no hiding that. But what do you think he specifically said about the 49ers during his interview with York? Site decorum is in effect, but feel free to get as specific as you can.